What happened next is like something, well, out of a Gabriel García Márquez novel. Local residents pulled dead animals out of the river, loading them on carts and dragging some of them home through the dusty streets tied to their bumpers. It was a feast of free beef.

But since then, the partly submerged ship has been spitting out the rest of the herd, fouling the town with a horrific stomach-turning stench. Carcasses that didn't wash downriver have floated to the surface and lodged along the docks and riverbanks, putrefying in the tropical sun.

AD

AD

The cause of the sinking is under investigation, according to Brazilian authorities, who have taken the 28 crew members of the Lebanese-flagged "Haidar" into custody. Port officials cited by Venezuelan media said the boat could have been overloaded, or sank because of a leak in the hull.

The disaster has been the subject of ongoing media fascination in Venezuela, where soaring inflation and economic mismanagement have led to chronic food shortages.

Beef is scarce, and the owner of the cattle, Brazil's Minerva Foods, is one of Venezuela's major providers.

Venezuela, which derives more than 90 percent of its income from petroleum exports, is heavily dependent on imported food.

AD

The sunken cattle shipment was said to have already been paid for by the Venezuelan government, but the loss would likely be covered by the shipping company's insurance.

AD

If quickly replaced, the effect on Venezuela's supermarkets would be minimal. With the country's parliamentary elections scheduled for Dec. 6, the government is under added pressure to keep the shelves stocked and the imported beef flowing.

Of more immediate concern in Barcarena, a town near the mouth of the Amazon and the city of Belem, is getting the stench to go away.

Brazilian authorities have attempted to contain the fuel spill and sent divers to the area to try to push the dead animals downstream. Health officials are warning residents that the free-steak party is over and that they must stop scavenging.

"People are eating meat that hasn't passed through a certification process and consuming a dead animal in the process of decomposition," said health official Melanie Castro.