15 crows die mysteriously in Halol

7 Feb 2009, 2253 hrs IST, TNN

HALOL: As many as 15 crows died mysteriously in quick succession in Sardarnagarkhand area of Kalol village here on Saturday. The incident sparked off fear of bird flu in the area. More were found in semi-conscious state on trees. According to Vejalpur forest officials, the crows simply fell off trees and died. "Eye witnesses to this phenomenon said the crows started dropping dead from the branches they were perched on," said a forester. "We found 15 crows lying dead on the road there. Further investigation revealed that there were hundreds of crows perched on the trees in semi-conscious state," the forester said. "When passers-by threw stones at them, hardly any crow moved. They all seemed incapable of any physical movement," he said. "Though we are yet to investigate the cause, it is suspected that the crows were suffering from food poisoning of some kind. There were also talks of bird flu infecting birds in the area. However, we can't say anything without thorough investigation," he added.