Elephant killed in Spanish circus truck crash

Emergency crews attend to the scene, after a circus truck carrying elephants crashed, in Pozo Canada, Spain April 2, 2018 in this image obtained from social media. Twitter/Policia Local Albacete via REUTERS

MADRID (Reuters) - One elephant died and two others were injured when a circus truck carrying five of the animals crashed in southeastern Spain on Monday, authorities said.

Video footage showed emergency services using a crane to winch one of the animals from the road in Pozo Canada, in the province of Albacete, as others wandered loose.

Civil Guard police tweeted a photo of a uniformed official standing in front of two of the roving animals, and wrote:

A person reacts next to elephants, after a circus truck that was transporting them crashed, in Pozo Canada, Spain April 2, 2018 in this image obtained from social media. Twitter/Policia Local Albacete via REUTERS

"Our Albacete traffic comrades today, attending to some elephants who were victims of an accident in Pozo Canada (unfortunately one of the pachyderms died)."

The head of the government's traffic department, Gregorio Serrano, said on Twitter that early indications suggested the truck had overturned as it tried to overtake another vehicle.

Elephants stand on the road, after a circus truck that was transporting them crashed, in Pozo Canada, Spain April 2, 2018 in this image obtained from social media. Twitter/Policia Local Albacete via REUTERS

(Reporting by Isla Binnie, editing by David Evans)