World Scene: Australia

Pig farts spark gas scare

A flatulent pig sparked a gas emergency in southern Australia yesterday when a farmer mistook its odors for a leaking pipe, officials said.

Fifteen firefighters and two trucks were called to a property at Axedale in central Victoria state after reports of a gas leak, officials said. "When we got there, as we drove up the driveway, there was this huge sow, about a 120-odd kilo sow, and it was very obvious where the gas was coming from," said fire captain Peter Harkins. "We could not only smell it, but we heard it and it was quite funny."