THE clean-up continues after a truck carrying more than 400 sheep rolled off a bend on the Princes Freeway at Laverton North last night.
The truck was travelling towards Geelong on the Western Ring Road off-ramp when the incident happened about 9pm.
Many sheep fell onto the road below, with several hitting vehicles, as the truck dangled precariously above.
Fewer than 10 sheep are believed to have survived, according to the RSPCA.
One of the vehicles rolled four times but its occupants escaped injury, as did the truck driver.
The inbound lanes of the Princes Freeway were blocked, with one outbound lane closed for up to four hours. Both roads are now open.
Police said the sheep carcasses are likely to be removed by Wyndham Council rangers this morning.
RSPCA Victoria spokeswoman Kristen Vear said two inspectors who attended the scene described it as the worst incident they had ever seen.
‘‘We believe there were more than 50 badly injured sheep that needed to be put down.
‘‘The priority for our team was the welfare of the injured sheep.’’
It is the second time in weeks a livestock truck has crashed on the Princes Freeway.
On May 9, a semi-trailer heading towards Melbourne crashed off the freeway near the Sneydes Road overpass. The smash tipped cattle onto the road, killing and seriously injuring many of the animals and blocking traffic.
Anyone who witnessed the incident should phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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