A truck carrying 100 monkeys crashed on the way to a laboratory, and police are still looking for 1 of the 4 that escaped
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- A truck carrying roughly 100 monkeys crashed near Danville, Pennsylvania, on Friday on its way to a laboratory.
- Authorities have been searching for four monkeys that escaped during the crash.
- They found three of the monkeys so far, but were still searching for one as of Saturday morning.
A truck carrying roughly 100 monkeys crashed near a Pennsylvania borough on Friday, allowing several of the animals to flee into the surrounding area.
The truck collided with a dump truck on State Route 54, just off of Interstate 80 near Danville, Pennsylvania, according to local newspaper The Daily Item. It had been on its way to a laboratory.
Four monkeys escaped during the crash and were loose in the surrounding area. Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Game Commission searched for the missing animals and used a helicopter in the process, according to local TV station WNEP.
As of Saturday morning, authorities had found three of the escaped monkeys but were still searching for the fourth, Pennsylvania State Troopers Andrea Pelachick and Lauren Lesher said in a tweet.
One of the monkeys was found in a tree, and three shots were later heard, WNEP reported. The condition of all four monkeys is not yet known.
"Anyone who sees or locates the monkey is asked not to approach, attempt to catch, or come in contact with the monkey," the troopers tweeted.
They have asked that sightings of the monkey be reported to state police at 570-524-2662, according to PennLive.com.
In a statement after the crash, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said "there is no way to ensure that monkeys are virus-free," noting that "records show that monkeys in laboratories in the US have been found with tuberculosis, Chagas disease, cholera, and MRSA."
"Because these 100 long-tailed macaque monkeys were headed to a laboratory to be caged, tormented, and killed, they were already in danger — but now the public is, too," PETA said in the statement. "The four who got away are undoubtedly terrified and likely injured, and they may be harboring viruses that are transmissible to humans."
The Pennsylvania State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.