130 Hamsters Managed to Escape Their Cages and "Forced" the Pilot to Land (2 photos)
The rodents were reportedly ordered for a pet store on the island of Sao Miguel, Portugal. Other animals on board included ferrets and some birds. 
The hamsters escaped from their transport cages and caused chaos on board the plane, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. Maintenance workers later tried to find all the rodents that could damage electrical cables, but 16 of them are still at large.
After the landing of the Airbus 320 in the capital of the Azores archipelago Ponta Delgada on the island of Sao Miguel (Portugal), the loaders discovered that the cages in which the animals were transported were damaged.
Due to the mass escape of rodents, the plane was unable to return to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, where it began its journey. The search for the remaining animals continued last night. 
Journalists from the local newspaper Correio da Manha write that the animals were accepted on the TAP Air Portugal flight after another airline refused to transport them because the cages "did not meet standards."
Photos of hamsters being removed by workers using gloves because their claws are harder than lead, aluminum, iron, and copper are currently circulating online.
