Odhran McLaughlin faced a challenging task of rounding up 15,000 crabs that spilled onto a highway in Ireland during a late-night incident. The owner of McLaughlin’s Car Dismantlers and Recovery in Burnfoot, Ireland, received a surprise call about an overturned transport truck in County Donegal, unaware that it was carrying live crabs.
The truck, loaded with $97,000 worth of brown crabs caught by Irish fishermen and destined for Portugal, veered off the road, causing the container to burst open and releasing the crabs. McLaughlin found the crabs scurrying on the highway and nearby field, attempting to reach the sea.
Despite his expertise in car parts rather than crustaceans, McLaughlin sought help from villagers, crab fishermen, a veterinarian, and volunteers from Burnfoot, Greencastle, and Moville. It took a team of 80 individuals, including men, women, and children, around 18 hours to gather the crabs, place them in sandbags, and return them to the container using a crane.
Approximately 95% of the crabs were successfully rescued, with some perishing in the accident and a few managing to escape. Although initially intended for restaurants, the collected crabs were deemed unfit for consumption due to the incident.
The cause of the truck mishap remains uncertain, but McLaughlin speculates that unfamiliarity with rural roads in Donegal may have contributed to the accident. Reflecting on the ordeal, McLaughlin expressed a desire to avoid encountering crabs in the future.