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Hokkaido cops: Train hits 3 run-away calves

A train struck three run-away calves in Hokkaido (TV Asahi)
A train struck three run-away calves in Hokkaido (TV Asahi)

HOKKAIDO (TR) – A train struck three calves who escaped from a nearby farm in what railway officials describe as an extremely rare accident, TV Asahi reported on Friday (Nov. 4).

A JR freight train was traveling through the town of Urahoro in Hokkaido at around 5:30 a.m. when it stopped after running over three calves that escaped from a nearby farm.

The run-away calves likely escaped onto the tracks by leaping over loose electric fencing, authorities said.

Three trains were suspended along with others seeing delays of almost two hours, JR officials said, adding that a train striking cows is an extremely rare occurrence.

The male owner of the nearby farm said he was “shocked, I couldn’t believe it.”

“Ideally you’d wanna watch over the [cows] every day, but you can’t all the time, so I guess they ended up over the fence,” the farmer said in a televised interview.