Curious operation

Police officers on a donkey hunt in the city of Linz

The radio patrol crew first tried to stop the two donkeys from running away with the police car.(Bild: Jürgen Pachner)

Two donkeys caused a stir in Linz-Urfahr on Thursday morning. The two animals suddenly trotted along in the area of the city entrance and obstructed traffic. After several attempts, a radio patrol crew called to help managed to catch the two stray animals. They had run more than four kilometers.

Drivers could hardly believe their eyes when they suddenly came across two donkeys on the busy Leonfeldner Bundesstraße (B 126) shortly after 9 a.m. on Thursday.

The animals were initially still on the sidewalk, but then crossed onto the road.

A truck driver was able to bring his vehicle, which weighed several tons, to a halt just in time to avoid an accident.

Several drivers alerted the police. They arrived in the form of a radio patrol crew from Dornach police station.

The officers had to catch the duo by hand.(Bild: Jürgen Pachner)

First they trotted along the sidewalk, then they crossed onto the road.(Bild: Jürgen Pachner)

The first attempt to cordon off the road with the police car failed. The donkeys swerved out of the way and stubbornly continued to run. The officers then got out of the car and tried to catch the donkeys by hand.

This finally brought the hoped-for success. The police officers managed to grab the halters of the two hoofed animals and stop them running at full speed.

Policewoman with one of the runaways(Bild: Jürgen Pachner)

It was initially unclear who the runaways belonged to. Investigations finally revealed that the donkeys had run away about four kilometers away in Kirchschlag. They were returned to their owner unharmed.