Dolphins found washed ashore

2006-06-13 08:28

Tbilisi, Georgia - Dozens of dolphins have washed up along a section of Georgia's Black Sea coast, where they have never before been seen, officials and local residents said on Monday.

Scientists from ministry of environmental protection were travelling to the coastline near the village of Anakliya, about 280km west of the capital, Tbilisi, to take water samples and try and determine what caused the more than 30 dolphins to wash ashore in recent days.

Rustavi-2 television, citing unnamed sources, said specialists were considering two theories: ongoing military exercises conducted by the breakaway region of Abkhazia, or a spike in radioactivity from materials dumped into the sea from a nearby Russian military bases.

The Black Sea is one of the world's most polluted seas, with its only outlet via Turkey's Bosporus.

- AP