ABOUT 6,000 chickens have perished in a poultry farm fire in County Tyrone.

On the evening of Sunday, 13 September, firefighters were called to a farm on the Crosscavanagh Road in Dungannon.

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Eight appliances attended the incident from fire stations in Dungannon, Pomeroy, Cookstown, Portadown, Lisburn and Dungiven, including an aerial appliance.

It took several hours to bring the blaze under control.

A spokesman said: “Firefighters worked hard in challenging conditions to prevent the fire spreading and used three jets to extinguish the blaze.

“Approximately 6,000 chickens were killed in the incident.

“The cause of the fire is believed to have been accidental ignition, and the incident was dealt with by 2.33 am on Monday 14 September.”