Circus elephant, camels crash Daniel's Harbour
Source: CBC News
Posted: 06/16/08 7:37AM
Filed Under: Canada
A small town on Newfoundland's west coast has taken on a true circus-like atmosphere, after a weekend truck crash that stranded three animals in the community.
Two camels and an elephant escaped safely after a transport truck working for the Cirque Estival touring company overturned Sunday morning on a detour in Daniel's Harbour, on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula.
"I heard this loud noise," said Wanda House, whose home is near where the truck landed on its side.
"I saw the truck there off the road there, and I could see some smoke coming from under him, and smell the strange smells," said House, who called an ambulance.
The driver was taken to a medical clinic in Norris Point, about 100 kilometres south of Daniel's Harbour, for treatment of injuries that police said were not life-threatening.
Meanwhile, volunteer firefighters used the Jaws of Life to open the truck and remove the camels and elephant, which sustained what police called minor injuries.
A veterinarian and wildlife officials from the Newfoundland and Labrador government arrived Sunday to work with the animals.
By coincidence, Daniel's Harbour was well equipped to contain the animals, which will remain in the community for a few days until a reinforced truck arrives from Ontario to pick them up.
Last year, a series of dramatic landslides swept away a bungalow and other structures, and the town has fenced off large portions of the community where construction has been forbidden.
"The landslide area here in town is completely fenced in, so we unlocked the gates and put the animals inside the enclosure," said Mayor Steve Carey.
"That way, we could keep people away from the animals and the animals could have a bit of quiet," said Carey. "Only in Daniel's Harbour."
House said she was relieved to see that the animals sustained only a few scrapes.
"I'm really amazed that they survived, because the driver told me if the elephant was on its side for any length of time, it wouldn't survive."
Volunteer firefighters stripped away part of an overturned transport truck to release two camels and an elephant. (RCMP)
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