Hundreds of piglets loose after truck carrying thousands overturns in Ohio

A semi-trailer carrying about 2,200 piglets overturned on an Ohio highway on Monday night killing hundreds of the animals, an official a newspaper said, forcing a lane closure as authorities chased pigs over the roadway and into adjacent woods.

Up to 15 local police and fire agencies were still trying to capture the pigs more than two hours after the accident on State Route 35 in Xenia Township, about 16 miles east of Dayton, said a dispatch operator for the Green County sheriff’s department who did not want to be identified.

A short video of the accident posted online by the local Fox television station showed rescue workers trying to secure the squealing piglets, holding them by the hind legs and passing them into another truck.

The Dayton Daily News reported that as many as 400 pigs had been killed and that a female passenger in the semi-trailer had been injured. The newspaper added that authorities were searching for more escaped pigs well into the night.

It was not immediately clear what caused the accident or how many pigs had been recovered.