‘Complex’ operation underway on M1 to rescue 40 cows trapped after lorry crash
An operation is ongoing to free cattle from a livestock lorry after it overturned on the M1 on Friday morning. The motorway is shut in both directions near Dungannon, Co Tyrone[1] following the incident, which involved about 40 cows, Belfast Live[2] reports. David Doherty, area commander for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS), said the driver "is safe and well".
He told the BBC Nolan Show: "At the minute, we have 30 firefighters on scene, we have appliances from Dungannon, Portadown and Armagh[3]. "We have two specialist animal rescue teams... and we have our specialist rescue team. "We have an overturned lorry.
Thankfully, the driver is safe and well. There are 40 cattle trapped in the lorry, we are carrying out an extraction of those animals. "We have a rescue plan in place.
We are off-loading those animals into another vehicle and we will transport them away safely. "It is a challenging operation at the moment. Unfortunately, both ways of the motorway are currently closed, and may be for several hours."
A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service confirmed one person was brought to hospital following the incident. A NIAS spokesperson said: "The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service received a 999 call at 05:27am on Friday, 16 May, following reports of a road traffic collision on the M1 Motorway "NIAS dispatched two Emergency Crews to the incident.
Following initial assessment and treatment at scene, one person was taken to Craigavon Area Hospital by ambulance."
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References
- ^ Tyrone (www.irishmirror.ie)
- ^ Belfast Live (www.belfastlive.co.uk)
- ^ Armagh (www.irishmirror.ie)
- ^ Sign up here (www.irishmirror.ie)