Ten pilot whales were rescued and refloated Monday after they became stranded on a Scottish beach, according to reports.

The 20-foot whales were kept alive by vets and led out to deeper waters but 16 others could not be saved and died on the beach in Fife, on the east coast just south of St Andrews, Fife, The Scotsman newspaper reported.

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It said volunteers joined the local coastguard, Fire Brigade, British Divers Marine Life Rescue, animal welfare charities and local vets during the rescue attempt.

21 whales beach selves in Florida, at least two die

Coastguard officials were alerted to the beaching, between Anstruther and Pittenweem, at 7 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET) on Sunday, the BBC reported.  It said three of the whales that died were calves.

David Galloway, a fish filleter from Anstruther, told The Scotsman: “I went down to the beach at about 12 p.m. and I could see all the whales. It was horrible. I have never seen anything like it in my life.

“We were told we couldn’t go down on to the beach, but we could see rescuers beside the whales, they were trying to take care of them, trying to keep them moist. They were waiting for the tide to come in. It was just horrible.”

A coastguard spokeswoman said: “It is a very rare occurrence in Scotland and very sad.

“The usual scenario would be that the whale that is leading the group has become ill, or has lost its way, and gets beached and the rest will follow on. Although we do not know for sure if that is what has happened.”

Witnesses posted pictures of the rescue scene via social media, including Twitter.

It came after 21 short-finned pilot whales beached themselves along Florida's Atlantic coast on Saturday, leaving at least two whales dead.

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Jamal Tarhuni is now home, but the questions surrounding his unexplained month-long exile in North Africa remain unanswered. 

Tarhuni, a 55-year-old Libyan-American businessman, was reunited with his wife and four children in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday, ending an ordeal in which he was barred by the U.S. from flying home and questioned at length by the FBI. 

It is unclear why the agency waylaid Tarhuni, and it is unclear whether he faces more scrutiny. He and his attorney presume he is on the U.S. government’s “no-fly” list — meaning he would be barred from boarding any domestic or international flight that enters U.S. airspace. The FBI and State Department have refused comment on his case, citing privacy and security, and both agencies consistently decline to confirm or deny whether specific names are on the list.

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The ordeal faced by Tarhuni and his fellow Oregonian Libyan-American, Mustafa Elogbi, 60, who remains stuck in Tunisia for another week at least, is more common for U.S. citizens than it seems — particularly for those who are Muslim or of Arab descent, said Gadeir Abbas, an attorney with the Council on American Islamic Relations who has been involved in Tarhuni’s case and many other apparent “no-fly” cases.

Previous coverage from msnbc.com

• American aid worker: US bars my return
• What gives? Another American caught in no-fly limbo
• No-fly Americans split up to fly home
• Bittersweet homecoming for Libyan-American caught in no-fly limbo

“There is a constant stream of despicable tales,” said Abbas. “It’s more common that we hear from people and they don’t want to go public. When your own government tells you you’re too dangerous to fly, there’s a palpable fear of retaliation. And it’s really an expectation that people on the no-fly list have that something more onerous is coming down the road.” 

Tarhuni decided when he was stuck in Tunis that he would publicly challenge the FBI actions — which he believes were unconstitutional and unjustifiable. He said Tuesday that he intends to continue to seek publicity and generate discussion of the “no fly” issue. 

There are two ongoing legal cases that challenge the government's authority to use the no-fly list, said Abbas. 

"These (cases) are going to take years, and in the meantime, these are human tragedies," he added. 

In the accompanying video, shot on Tuesday at their home in Tigard, Ore., just outside Portland, Tarhuni, his wife, Nariman Samed, and daughter Lina discuss the personal impact the incident had on the family, their uncertainty about the future and how they intend to move forward.

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