Cargo Ship Capsizes With 14,600 Sheep Trapped Inside, Rescue Mission In Progress

Juan F Martinez‎ / Facebook

Ship Carrying 14,600 Sheep Capsizes

According to The Guardian, a massive 278-foot cargo ship called The Queen Hind was carrying 14,600 sheep on November 24th (2019) when it capsized around 12pm in the Black Sea off the coast Romania.

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The Ship Was Allegedly Overload

The media outlet reported it was on its way to Saudi Arabia and as it was pulling out of the harbor it began to heavily lean to its right side. Built in 1980, the ship was overloaded with too much weight and that’s what officials believe was the cause of the capsizing.

However, that has not been fully verified yet and they are still looking into any other reason why the ship could have flipped on its side. Once they save the sheep and salvage the ship they will run a full investigation.

There were 20 Syrian crew members aboard who were rescued immediately and only one of them had to be taken to the hospital for hypothermia. Officials are scrambling to figure out a way now to save the 14,600 sheep and calling on all resources to do so.

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Officials Responded To The Disaster

The military, police, firefighters, and divers have all join forces to rescue the sheep and 32 of them have already been caught after being spotted swimming near the ship.

With the ship fully laying on its side and submerged halfway, officials fear many of them have already drowned. According to The Guardian, Mary Pana, the president of Acebop, which is Romania’s main livestock breeder and exporter association gave a statement on the incident.

“Our association is shocked by the disaster. If we cannot protect livestock during long-distance transports, we should outright ban them.” 

There have been no further updates on the survival of the remaining sheep yet but we hope they are able to save as many of them as they can.