About 1, 200 Christmas chickens valued at about N4,800,000 perished in an early morning auto crash which occurred on Saturday at Adolor junction, Ugbowo, along Benin-Ore highway in Benin City, capital of Edo State.
No human life was however lost in the wreckage of the accident, PM News reports.
The dead chickens were allegedly meant for sale at Uselu market, located at a distance of about half a kilometre from the scene of the accident.
According to an eyewitness account, the driver of the truck conveying the chicken who was said to have driven all night on the Benin-Ore Expressway from unknown destination, apparently lost control after dozing off, before falling into the deep roadside gutter.
The eyewitness, a trader who identified herself simply as Mrs. Amenze, who was close to tears, said, “I pity the driver, so many birds died. This is a big loss.”
It was however gathered that while some sympathizers were making arrangement to take the injured driver to the hospital for treatment, others were waiting anxiously to prey on the dead fowls.