Lab monkeys on loose after Mississippi crash were disease-free, university says

Three monkeys remain at large and are being searched for, officials said after initially reporting they were infectious

A group of monkeys being transported on a Mississippi highway that escaped captivity on Tuesday after the truck carrying them overturned did not carry a dangerous infectious disease, a university has said.

The truck was carrying rhesus monkeys, which typically weigh around 16lb (7.7kg) and are among the most medically studied animals on the planet.