Three sloths die of cold on aircraft immobilized for more than 24 hours at Liege Airport, Belgium

Three sloths have died inside an aircraft at Liege Airport, Belgium after the aircraft became stuck during heavy snowfall in the weekend of 21 and 22 January, Aviation24.be reported that the airport was paralysed for 24 hours. Sudinfo newspapers today brought up the news about their terrible fate. First, it was believed that the deceased animals were sloth bears, now it turns out that a wrong translation caused the error. The dead animals are sloths. 

The nine sloths were transported as cargo inside and aircraft from a Qatarese company, which landed on Saturday morning. As the aircraft was blocked on the taxiway, it could not be reached safely due to the winter weather. They waited in the bitter cold, while the animals are used to temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees.

Twenty-four hours later, the container was finally opened. Three of them turned out to have died, most likely from the cold. The aircraft came in from Peru, and via Liege onward to Doha then Indonesia. Liege Airport is known for its specialized treatment of animals, especially horses.

Not a special treatment for the animals that day, not even an emergency attempt was used to rescue them. The airport and the handler are now pointing fingers at each other.

According to Sudinfo, an investigation is underway to clarify the incident.

Source:

Indignation à Liege Airport: trois ours meurent de froid dans un avion immobilisé plus de 24 heures sur la piste à cause de la neige et du verglas! (Sudinfo)

Sloth Bear (wikipedia)