Thirty-two dolphins have been found washed up on a beach on the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo.

Early on Monday, police received reports of the stranded dolphins from surfers and others in Ichinomiya Town and neighboring Isumi City.

Ichinomiya officials say that the dolphins were spread along a 500-meter stretch of the two municipalities' coastlines.

Surfers tried to return the marine mammals to the sea, but three of them were confirmed dead. One surfer said the dolphins were very heavy, and that three or four people worked together to push each of them.

A local resident in her 40s said she was surprised to see such a situation, and that she hoped the dolphins would be able to get back into the sea as soon as possible.