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Investigators probe possible New Year’s Eve fireworks link to mysterious mass blackbird deaths

Investigators were probing Monday the possibility that a large cannon or a concentrated burst of fireworks was to blame for the mysterious mass death of nearly 5,000 blackbirds in Arkansas.

Dr. George Badley, the state’s chief veterinarian, told NewsCore that an eyewitness heard several loud blasts shortly before the bizarre episode began on New Year’s Eve.

The burst of noise was quickly followed by the frenzied flapping of wings as thousands of the stricken birds began dropping from the sky, according to the witness.

“They do set off fireworks in Arkansas on New Year’s Eve,” Badley said. “Not every state does, but they do in Arkansas.”

The line of inquiry emerged as a state pathologist confirmed signs of trauma in all 17 birds that he examined, Badley said.

Badley likened the trauma damage to the sort of injuries that might be caused by “running into things.” He added that the dead birds would still be examined for any germs, viruses or poisons.

The mass deaths began at about 11:30pm (local time) on Dec. 31, when Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officers began receiving reports of blackbirds inexplicably dropping out of the sky across a one-mile (1.6km) stretch of Beebe, near Arkansas State University.

“I came out here and saw a bird drop,” resident Stephen Bryant told THV-TV.

“It was horrible, you could not even get down the road without running over hundreds,” another resident, Melissa Weatherly, told the station.

Meanwhile, the mysterious deaths of 100,000 drum fish about 125 miles (201km) away was thought to be unrelated.

Spokespeople for the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission did not return requests for comment.