Skip to main content

Who you gonna call?

Emergency services in the US state of Oregon recently faced a rather unusual challenge when they were called out to deal with the aftermath of a crash. A truck had overturned, spilling its load into the roadway and onto a number of other vehicles. Unfortunately the truck’s load happened to comprise several tonnes of live hagfish, which were being transported to Korea, where they are eaten as a delicacy.
October 18, 2017 Read time: 1 min

Emergency services in the US state of Oregon recently faced a rather unusual challenge when they were called out to deal with the aftermath of a crash. A truck had overturned, spilling its load into the roadway and onto a number of other vehicles. Unfortunately the truck’s load happened to comprise several tonnes of live hagfish, which were being transported to Korea, where they are eaten as a delicacy. Hagfish have no backbones and produce slime when under stress, which was certainly the case in this crash. The truck and several cars were damaged during the incident and also covered in slime, which emergency crews had to wash away before the road, the busy I-101 route, could be returned to normal traffic flow.

Related Content

  • Plans are moving ahead on the new Argentina-Chile tunnel
    June 24, 2013
    Plans are progressing with regard to the Agua Negra tunnel that will connect Argentina and Chile and is expected to cost in excess of US$850 million. The authorities in San Juan province are calling for proposals to construct the tunnel and have published the terms and conditions for the tender. Those interested in the project will have to submit their proposals before 4th October 2013. A number of companies have shown an interest in the project including firms from Brazil, China, Germany, South Korea, Swit
  • East Africa road flooding causes damage
    May 22, 2018
    Heavy rains across East Africa have caused major problems to road links for the region. The rains have resulted in roads being washed away in rural areas, while urban areas have also suffered badly. Storm drainage in many areas has proven unable to cope. Kenya’s busy capital Nairobi has seen roads that are normally heavily congested suddenly resemble rivers, with water washing away vehicles and various structures.
  • Implementing road user charging
    February 14, 2012
    Oregon Department of Transportation's James Whitty spoke with Jason Barnes on the state's progress with VMT fee-based charging
  • Driverless vehicles -safe at any speed?
    May 22, 2018
    The development of driverless vehicles is ongoing, with manufacturers in the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China all working on various projects. But as the recent pedestrian fatality involving a driverless car under test in Arizona highlights, safety is not entirely assured. One key problem is that the road environment is not straightforward and self-driving vehicles have to share roadspace with vehicles under human control. However, human behaviour is not easy to predict. Nor is there one mode of beh