An elephant has died after a circus truck overturned on a motorway in Spain

El Digital de Albacete/YouTube

Three elephants wander around a motorway after a circus truck overturned.

• A circus truck carrying five elephants overturned in southeastern Spain.
• One elephant died and two others were injured.
• Authorities rescued the surviving elephants with a crane.
• WARNING: Some images shown below are graphic in nature.

An elephant has died after a circus truck overturned on a motorway in southeastern Spain.

The truck, which was carrying five elephants, flipped over on the A30 motorway near the town of Pozo Cañada on Monday afternoon.

One elephant died and two others were injured, police said.

It's not clear where or when the elephant died, and photos on social media showed the two injured animals wandering the motorway with cuts and blood on their heads and bodies.

The truck overturned while switching lanes, Spanish General Traffic Director Gregorio Serrano tweeted, citing preliminary investigations. The driver of the truck was not injured, the BBC reported.

Photos showed the truck rolled over the road and partially fell into a ditch, bringing some of the elephants with it.

The motorway remained blocked for at least an hour, after which police and firefighters evacuated the four surviving elephants via crane - as can be seen in the video below.

They were later taken to a compound in Pozo Cañada to be taken care of.