An officer with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office said the animals were from the Mizpah Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne.
GRANT COUNTY, Ind. — A vehicle fire involving a semi-tractor-trailer hauling animals, including camels and zebras, closed both northbound lanes of Interstate 69 early Saturday morning.
Indiana State Police and Grant County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) officials responded to the incident around 2 a.m. near Marion.
Brent Ressett, a public information officer for the GCSO, said the animals were from the Mizpah Shrine Circus in Fort Wayne. He also said the animals were still in the trailer when officers arrived, and they had to rescue them.
The GCSO shared pictures on Facebook of officers rescuing the animals and holding them in the middle grass strip of I-69.
Ressett said two officials were checked for smoke inhalation after the incident.
All animals were contained and accounted for around 3:30 a.m., according to ISP, and all of the animals involved were rescued safely, according to GCSO.
ISP says the crash closed all northbound lanes, and southbound lanes were down to just one lane. After the fire was put out, all lanes were opened at 6:30 a.m.
Equipment failure was the cause of the fire, according to ISP.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
