Spanish authorities said 23K chicks passed away after being stuffed into cardboard boxes & abandoned at a Madrid airport for at least 3 days without any food or water.

When officials discovered the baby chicks at an outdoor cargo terminal over the weekend, some 6K had already passed away & the others were trying to survive by consuming the remains of the dead ones.

Only 3K of the 26K birds that were discovered ended up surviving.

A preliminary investigation found that the boxes where they were being transported broke because of the rain, making it “impossible” to continue their shipment, officials said.