12 dolphins trapped in Maldives lagoon die, 22 others freed

The pod of dolphins trapped in Nadella island's lagoon.

22 out of the pod of dolphins trapped inside Nadella Island's lagoon have been freed and released into the ocean but 12 had died, the island's council said on Saturday.

Faisal Najeeb, the island council's chair said that 38 dolphins had accidentally wandered in to the island's - located in Gaafu Dhaalu atoll - lagoon. He added that there were about four dolphins left to free.

"We caught the dolphins on a net and released them into the ocean" Najeeb said "12 of them died in this process".

"Catching them with nets was the only option we had" he continued.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers and islanders noticed the trapped dolphins and began work to free them on Thursday.

Faisal said that two dolphins were saved on the first day, 16 on Friday, and two have been freed thus far on Saturday.

"The remaining four dolphins will be freed today" Najeeb added.

He also said that the dolphins were each about 8 feet in length.

The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) had said that this is first case where so many dolphins were found trapped.

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