01-29-2004, 06:58 AM
|
|
|
Confirmed User
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 7,761
|
Quote:
Ananova:
Dead whale explodes in busy city street
A decomposing sperm whale has exploded while being transported through a Taiwan city, splattering cars and shops with blood and blubber.
The 50-ton carcass was being taken through Tainan City, on its way to a research centre, when it blew up.
Certified by authorities as the largest beached whale on record in Taiwan, the remains were being carried on a flat-bed trailer at the time, reports the eTaiwannews website.
Officials at the National Cheng Kung University had refused permission for a post-mortem to be carried out on the whale at their facilities, and Professor Wang Chien-ping ordered the remains to be taken to the Shi-Tsao Natural Preserve.
He said: "The animal was close to death when someone found it beached on shore on Saturday.
"Because of the natural decomposing process, a lot of gases accumulated, and when the pressure build-up was too great, the belly exploded."
|
|
|
|