A number of whales have become stranded for the second time in a week, as authorities work to free the last surviving animals beached along the coast of western Tasmania.
Authorities refloated some 30 pilot whales on Thursday after more than 200 became stranded on Ocean Beach near Macquarie Harbour, south of Strahan.
Incident Controller Brendon Clark said fewer than 10 whales ended up back on the beach on Friday but could not confirm the exact number.
He said one of them died and another was euthanised.
"That's unfortunate but that's also one of the consequences of these types of events," Mr Clark told reporters.
The priority now is to look out for restranded whales and free the three surviving animals stuck on a remote part of the beach.
Rescuers were hopeful they could reach them late on Friday but faced difficulties due to challenging location and tidal conditions.
Initial reports suggested up to 230 animals had become stranded but on Friday Mr Clark said the exact number was unclear.
"There's been some conflicting numbers bandied around by some of the organisations that are helping us," he said.
"There were approximately 30 to 35 that were released yesterday afternoon.
"It's still a bit of a grey number because there were some late operations but look it's certainly less than 10 that have restranded."
The dead whales will be removed and disposed of in coming days.
They will likely be towed into deep waters far from the coast so they don't wash up on shore.
More than 50 Tasmanian government staff, volunteers and workers from a local aquaculture company were involved in the rescue effort.
Scientists and researchers have descended on Ocean Beach to gather information about the whales.
A community meeting will be held in Strahan on Friday evening to keep residents informed.
Ocean Beach will reopen to the public as soon as possible.
The cause of the mass stranding may not be able to be determined, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said.
The department will conduct post-mortem investigations.
