Seven pilot whales were found dead on an eastern Indonesian beach, an official said Saturday, after 17 were stranded in the remote area.

Residents of nearby Menia Village managed to save ten of the whales, all roughly three to four metres long, in a rescue attempt on Friday.

“There were some lacerations on their body from the contacts with rocks,” local marine conservation agency head Ikram Sangaji told AFP.

He added that the injuries on the whales indicated they were not handled properly during the rescue.