A plane has been stuck in Portugal for a week, unable to take off due to a mass escape of hamsters.
132 rodents have gone on the run after escaping from the luggage compartment of a TAP Portuguese airliner.
As reported by the portal "TUT NOVOSTI" with reference to foreign media, this plane was blocked in the Azores for almost a week.
Details of the incident indicate that an Airbus 320 flew from Lisbon to the city of Ponta Delgada.
The luggage compartment of the aircraft contained various animals ordered from a pet store.
In particular, among the “passengers” were birds, ferrets and very freedom-loving hamsters.
After the plane landed, it was discovered that the boxes were damaged and the hamsters had escaped.
Because of the incident, the airliner has been unable to return to the country's capital since last Tuesday.
Technical maintenance teams are catching the fugitives. As of November 17, 16 rodents were still known to be at large.
But the plane is not allowed to fly, fearing that the hamsters might chew through the electrical cables.
For reference
Hamsters are a subfamily of rodents of the hamster family.
