30,000 pounds of lobsters survive Maine crash

PORTLAND, Maine - Some 30,000 pounds (1.4 tons) of live lobsters from Canada survived for several hours after a truck carrying them slid off a highway in central Maine on Wednesday, but the crustaceans were quickly back on their way to New Hampshire and Rhode Island markets, police said.

The truck, fully loaded with about $300,000 worth of lobsters from Nova Scotia in seawater, slid into the median and landed on its side after swerving to miss a vehicle that had spun out on a stretch of Interstate 95 north of Augusta, Maine's capital, according to state police reports.

State police said a crane was used to get the truck upright but it was damaged beyond repair. After a crew ensured the wellbeing of the lobsters, they were loaded on other trucks taking them to their intended destination.

The driver was not hurt, police said.