Three elephants escape Missouri circus, damage two vehicles

[March 24, 2014]  (Reuters) — Three elephants escaped from a circus in suburban St. Louis on Saturday, damaging two vehicles but causing no injuries before they were captured, a circus spokesman said.

The pachyderms busted out the back entrance of Family Arena in St. Charles, Missouri, at about 5:30 p.m. local time (2230 GMT) between performances of the Moolah Shrine Circus, said event spokesman Dennis Burkholder.

They were in a private holding area and escaped into an employee parking lot, Burkholder said. It is unclear how they got out, he said.

Trainers discovered the elephants missing and had them back in captivity after about 20 minutes, Burkholder said. The animals suffered no apparent injuries, he said.

(Reporting by Kevin Murphy in Kansas City, Missouri; editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Lisa Shumaker)

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