Five elephants forced the closure of a motorway in south-eastern Spain after escaping from a crashed vehicle.
Photo: Twitter / @policiaalbacete
One of the elephants died from injuries that it sustained, while two others were hurt, local police say.
The injured animals had to be lifted by a crane from the carriageway.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon in the town of Pozo Cañada near Albacete in the Murcia region. The driver of the truck involved in the crash was not injured.
The vehicle is believed to be a circus lorry.
The director of the government department responsible for Spain's road transport network, Gregorio Serrano, posted a video of the elephant evacuation to social media.
Se está procediendo a la asistencia y evacuación de los elefantes heridos en el accidente que ha tenido lugar en Albacete. De los cinco paquidermos hay uno muerto y dos heridos. En breve de restablecerá la circulación en la A-30 en el pk 22/23. pic.twitter.com/fhGypNDYGm
— Gregorio Serrano (@Gserrano_DGT) April 2, 2018
Local police in the Albacete released photos showing three of the five elephants milling around in the lanes of the motorway after the accident.
A-30 cortada por caída de camión con elefantes sueltos en la calzada. Cortada autovía dirección Murcia a la altura de pozo Cañada. pic.twitter.com/z0tPg6KDZo
— PolicíaLocalAlbacete (@PoliciaAlbacete) April 2, 2018
Mr Serrano said on Twitter that the cause of the crash is still under investigation by the local authorities.
The Pozo Cañada council posted a video of the four surviving elephants in a compound on Sunday evening.
It said (in Spanish) that they are being looked after by the local authority until they can be transferred.
Tras el #accidentes de esta tarde en la A30 en #PozoCañada y restablecido el tráfico, los 4 elefantes estarán cuidados en nuestro pueblo hasta que sean trasladados en los próximos días pic.twitter.com/l77sYywpWL
— Ayto Pozo Cañada (@Ayto_PozoCanada) April 2, 2018
- BBC
