UPDATED 3.15PM: Department of Conservation staff and a host of volunteers have successfully returned more than 20 stranded whales back into the ocean from Ohope Beach.

The refloating was originally scheduled for later on this evening once the tide had come in, but kind conditions allowed the mammals to return to sea earlier than planned.

Around 70 Project Jonah volunteers are on the scene at Ohiwa Harbour. Photo: Project Jonah, via Facebook

A further 30 were refloated last night, while reports suggest a total of 24 were killed as a result of the stranding.

Earlier:

While more than 20 pilot whales lie dead in the Bay of Plenty, a helicopter prevented more deaths by shepherding others to safety, an Ohiwa resident says.

Ken Barsdell was among people who tried to save the whales after they grounded near Whakatane last night.

He had been told 21 whales had died and another 11 were stranded and in trouble, after a pod of 60 pilot whales swam into Ohiwa Harbour last night.

There would have been more deaths if not for the chopper, he said.

"The noise actually turned them around, and they went back out the harbour mouth," he said.

In 38 years living near the eastern mouth of Ohiwa he had never seen a grounding that came near this one, he said.

From his home this morning he could see three carcasses on Ohiwa Harbour shorelines.

Photo: Tracy Hardy

Project Jonah had now taken control of the rescue, he said.

"The problem is the tide is going out - they've got some work to do."

It was hard to know what to do when he reached the beach last night, he said.

"Everyone was coming to grips with what to do. The tide was going out and it was getting dark."

Many of the whales had ended up on Whangakopikopiko Island, he said. The island is directly in line with the harbour mouth.

Rescuers are using an outward tide to coax the whales out of the harbour.

Twenty of the whales remained in a harbour channel this morning and a group of 50 trained volunteers were out at first light trying to urge them back out to open water, the Department of Conservation (DoC) said.

Ranger Tony Whittle says the whales that do not make it back out to the ocean will be brought to the burial site at the Ohiwa Spit, where the eight whales that died last night have been buried.

It was unusual to have pilot whales stranding at Ohiwa Harbour but orca did occasionally get stuck on the sand bar.

Photo: Sophie Robinson

Earlier:

Twenty two pilot whales stranded in Ohiwa Harbour will have to wait until around 6pm before they can be re-floated.

Two pods of whales came into shore yesterday afternoon, and eight have since died.

Department of Conservation operations manager John Sutton says there are still 22 pilot whales in Ohiwa Harbour and at the moment they are stranded and unable to get out to sea.

'The tide is on the ebb and they won't be able to get out until at least the high tide this evening,” he says.

'There is about 70 Project Jonah volunteers, they are marine mammal medics, that are with the mammals at the moment and they are trying to keep them comfortable today until high tide at about 6pm.”

John says the stranded whales are a mixture of females and juveniles. 'They came in late afternoon - in fact they were coming in since round midday yesterday. There were two pods that came into the harbour.

Photo: Project Jonah, via Facebook

'We don't know really, but coincidentally there was a sick whale that was reported well up the harbour around about midday and most of this event occurred late in the afternoon.

'It did appear that one of the pods, at least, was trying to re-join the isolated whale up the harbour. But that's speculation really, we really just don't know.”

John adds there is a huge public interest in what is happening and he asks people not get involved in the rescue operation and to stay way.

'There has been whale deaths which we are trying to deal with. It will be quite a major operation because we are unable to get machinery directly to where some of them have died.

'It's quite difficult moving some of these mammals as they are quite big, and some of them are up to 6m long. It's quite a major operation just recovering the dead whales.

'As much as we appreciate the voluntary efforts, it's better if it's coordinated. People can put themselves at risk because they are big mammals and people's emotions can get in the way of good sense.

'There is a lot of dynamics going on with some very strong tidal flows and long periods in the water.

'There is hypothermia risks and of course the whales don't lie still, they are flapping and a small movement by them can have some quite traumatic effects on the people around them.” John says it's best for people to keep their distance and don't get in the way.

Photo: Project Jonah, via Facebook

Photo: Sophie Robinson