2 whales wash ashore in Calif.; one dead

LOS ANGELES, April 10 (UPI) -- One of two whales that washed ashore in Southern California Friday has been towed out to sea but the other was dead when it beached, authorities said.

Marine researchers were trying to determine the cause of death for a 62-foot fin whale that washed ashore in the Los Angeles Harbor Friday morning, a U.S. Coast Guard officer told the Los Angeles Times.

Lt. j.g. Stephanie Young said personnel aboard the OOCL Japan, a merchant vessel operating under the Hong Kong flag, saw the dead whale about 6:30 a.m.

A U.S. marine biologist and a scientist with the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History were to conduct a necropsy to determine the cause of death. Chris Yates of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told the Times the whale may have been struck by a ship.

A second whale washed ashore in Del Mar, San Diego County, at 6:30 a.m. It was towed it out to sea, authorities said.