Advertisement

French road accident shows that pigs don't fly

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
French road accident shows that pigs don't fly
A pig is restrained by a police officer. Photo: AFP

Dozens of live pigs tumbled out of a truck that overturned on a French motorway Wednesday, but showed little appetite for their sudden freedom.

Advertisement

"Most of the animals stayed near the vehicle," a road safety official, Captain Jean Chevassu, told AFP.
   
"Two or three pigs... strayed further. It wasn't too hard to recover them."
   
The driver of the tractor-trailer lost control, leaving the vehicle lying across the two-lane road near the western city of Poitiers, shutting it for most of the day.
   
The impact tore a hole in the roof of the truck, through which most of the some 180 pigs emerged onto the road and into the surrounding forest.
   
Twenty-six died on the spot, while another 13 with severe injuries were put down.
   
Veterinarians teamed up with highway officials and police to coax the animals into makeshift pens created using movable traffic barriers and the road's guard rails.
   
One of the errant pigs met its fate further down the road, when it was hit by a car, Chevassu said.
   
The driver was hospitalised with slight injuries.
 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also