During the early hours of Friday morning, an articulated lorry with 42 bulls onboard overturned on the main N54 Cavan to Clones road outside Newtownbutler.

Assisted by a local vet, emergency crews used cutting and rescue equipment to successfully rescue 39 of the bulls which were trapped on the lorry, but three of the bulls died on impact. 

The cab of the lorry was badly damaged in the accident, but the driver a man in his was 40s, was able to escape from the lorry, was lucky to walk away with no serious injuries and he was treated by ambulance staff who also attended the accident. 

The Fire Service received the call around 6.30am, and a large crew of emergency vehicles arrived at the incident including two fire service appliances from Lisnaskea, a rescue pump from Enniskillen, Omagh’s specialist Large Animal Rescue Team, and Officers from Enniskillen and Portadown District attended. 

The route between Clones and Cavan Town, on the Fermanagh stretch was closed while the incident was dealt with, and diversions were in place.

The incident was dealt with at 9.49am and when released the bulls were contained in a nearby field.

Speaking following the incident, a Fire Service spokesman explained, 

“When crews are mobilised to road traffic collisions, it is generally because casualties are trapped, and we rescue them using our cutting and rescue equipment. All calls are different obviously, but an incident (on Friday) morning required a bit more than our normal response.

This was a particularly hazardous incident for our personnel to resolve, given the unpredictability, size, and large number of the livestock involved, especially when distressed.

 We are happy to report that none of our crews were injured whilst performing rescue operations.

Well done to all our crews and to our colleagues supporting us in Regional Controls. Also to PSNI Omagh/Fermanagh and NI Ambulance Service for their roles.”