(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Ten animals with the Shrine Circus were rescued on Interstate 69 in Indiana after the trailer they were being transported in caught fire on the highway, officials with the Indiana State Police said.
Officials said it happened shortly after 2 a.m. on Saturday in Grant County, which is about a one-hour drive northeast of Indianapolis.
Trooper Edward Titus was patrolling I-69 near the 263 mile marker when they noticed a 2012 Volvo semitruck and trailer was “engulfed in flames,” officials wrote in a press release. It was carrying five zebras, four camels and one miniature horse.
As they pulled up to the scene, the trooper located the driver, 57-year-old Armando Alvarez, who had already gotten out of the vehicle safely. Titus and a Grant County deputy entered the trailer and managed to rescue the animals.
While awaiting two other Shrine Circus trucks, additional officers arrived and were able to secure the animals safely.
Titus and the Grant County deputy were taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation and were later released. Alvarez and all of the animals were unhurt.
Lanes were closed for hours as crews extinguished the fire and cleaned up the scene, but the highway fully reopened at about 6:30 a.m.
Officials said it appeared the fire started due to an equipment failure.
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