One elephant died and several others roamed loose on a Spanish motorway following a lorry crash.
The incident took place in the town of Pozo Canada near Albacete.
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The vehicle “is believed to be a circus lorry”, says the BBC.
Police released pictures of the elephants appearing to feed on grass by crash barriers before being led to a safer area.
In a tweet police said: “The A30 has been closed because a lorry has overturned. Elephants are loose on the tarmac.
“The motorway has been closed around the Pozo Canada area heading towards Murcia.”
The animals were eventually safely transported to a nearby town in a new vehicle.
The director of the government department responsible for Spain's road transport network, Gregorio Serrano, posted a video of the elephant evacuation on Twitter.
The accident “is believed to have happened after the HGV they were in overtook another vehicle and the driver lost control as he headed back into the slow lane,” says the Daily Telegraph.
Silvia Barquero, the president of Spanish animal welfare political party Pacma, said the animals belonged to the Gottani Circus, which has performed several shows in the area over Easter.
She tweeted: “The lorry that has overturned was carrying Circo Gottani elephants. Show them more kindness. We treat animals like slaves. Enough of circuses that use animals.”
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