Oregon truck crash releases 77,000 salmon into wrong body of water

April 4 (UPI) -- Officials attempting to repopulate a river with salmon hit a setback when a truck crash released 77,000 of the fish into the wrong body of water.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said a tanker truck was transporting about 102,000 spring Chinook smolts -- adolescent salmon -- for release into the Imnaha River when it rolled over alongside Lookingglass Creek, a tributary of the Grande Ronde River.

The crash caused about 77,000 of the fish to wind up in the creek, far from their intended destination.

"The Union County Sheriff's department responded immediately and assisted with on-scene assessments and vehicle recovery operations," ODFW said in a news release. "Small amounts of diesel fuel were quickly contained and did not result in a hazardous material spill response."

The fish came from Lookingglass Hatchery, which raises the Chinook salmon to be released for tribal and sport harvest, as well as to supplement the Imnaha River's wild population, which is considered threatened.

The driver of the truck, an ODFW employee, suffered only minor injuries and is recovering, the department said.