A regional train between Coimbra-B and Caldas da Rainha ploughed into a flock of sheep early this morning, killing around 100.
The awful scene greeted firefighters from Montemor-o-Velho who were called to ‘help clear the line’ afterwards.
It is not clear what led the animals to be on the railway tracks.
The incident happened between 5am – 6am between Verride station and the ‘Reveles’ level crossing. The line was only fully cleared shortly before lunchtime.
Montemor-o-Velho firefighting commander Paulo Matos said this was the first such tragedy that he could remember, stressing that no human injuries were registered.
Diário de Coimbra reports that “at the spot where the sheep were run over, the scene was devastating, with dead sheep on the side of the line. The municipal vet began collecting the animals’ chips which helped with their counting.”
The paper refers to the ‘owner of the flock’ being present to help coordinate with ‘respective sanitary authorities’ which had to collect and remove all the carcasses. But there is no explanation of what led the animals to be on the tracks in what would have still been ‘pitch darkness’ early this morning.
Source: Jornal de Notícias/ SIC Notícias/ Diário de Coimbra
