Monica Madeja

One Calf Dies in Barn Collapse in Lunenberg

Officials are on scene of a barn collapse in Lunenberg on Sunday afternoon.

The incident occurred at Cherry Hill Farm when a silo toppled over, crushing half of the barn with at least a dozen animals still inside.

Workers were at the scene evacuating animals.

Concerned neighbors heard the incident.

"We heard a big bang...but we didn't know what it was," Carol McChristian said.

The silo was filled with feed, all of which spilled onto the barn.

"They had a failure at the bottom of the silo, and once it started to go, the whole thing just came right over," Captain Ken Jones of the Lunenberg Fire Department said.

the newly assembled Mid-State tech team led the rescue, shoring up the darn door so the animals could walk out safely.

Sadly, one cow didn't make it.

"One of the calves was buried to his neck. They had to euthanize it. Couldn't get it out."

Kathy Comeau, an animal control and animal inspector, inspects the barn each year and says there are never problems.

"It's sad. Hardworking people. They don't deserve this. Things happen."

This isn't the first time the family who runs this dairy farm has endured a catastrophe, Comeau said. In 1993, there was a fire here.

"It was tragic. We rebuilt the barn. Everybody helped put the barn back up."

And she expects the community to rally again. Already, area dairy farmers are taking the young stock here to their pastures where they'll be taken care of until they're ready to come home.

No cows are in the building now, but the building is seriously damaged.

The McMillan family who owns Cherry Hill Farm says they're working with the structural engineer to determine how much of the building is salvageable.

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