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A big rig carrying thousands of live chickens overturned in Chino Hills on Friday morning, causing a major road to be closed for hours.

The truck fell over while exiting the southbound 71 Freeway at Grand Avenue shortly before 5:30 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

It was hauling about 6,000 chickens when it crashed, city officials said in an alert. Video from the scene showed dozens of birds on the road, some alive and others dead.

Officers from the Inland Valley Humane Society and S.P.C.A. were dispatched to the scene to rescue and transport the fowl, according to the non-profit organization.

“Based on the location that they’re in and that they’re on their side — the truck is on its side — the chickens underneath are suffocating,” said James Edwards, the agency’s operations manager.

He told KTLA there was no immediate count as to how many birds died.

The truck was transporting the chickens to a farm in Chino, according to Edwards.

“It’s a really unfortunate situation, it appears the driver was speeding off of the off-ramp and made the turn, and flipped the truck,” he said.

The agency will investigate, and charges are possible against the driver, according to Edwards.

A SigAlert remained in place after 6 p.m., as work to remove chickens from the overturned truck continued, Chino Hills officials said. After that, crews would still have to remove the big rig and clean up the scene.

The southbound 71 off-ramp and all eastbound lanes of Grand Avenue remained were closed. It was possible the work would continue through midnight, officials said.

A temporary detour has been set up for eastbound motorists on the 71.