A dead sperm whale has exploded while being delivered to a research centre near the southwestern city of Tainan. Passers-by and cars were soaked in blood and body parts were sprayed over a road after the bursting of the whale, which was being carried on a trailer. The whale had died earlier on a beach and had been collected so its remains could be used for educational purposes. A marine biologist blamed the explosion on pressure from gases building up in the mammal as it began to decompose. The whale attracted a lot of onlookers both before and after it exploded. Several parked cars and pedestrians got covered in blood when it exploded. Residents and shop owners wore masks while trying to clean up the spilt blood and entrails. "What a stinking mess. This blood and other stuff that blew out on the road is disgusting, and the smell is really awful," said one resident. Professor Wang Chien-ping, of the National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, had ordered the whale to be moved to the Shi-Tsao Natural Preserve after his own institution refused to allow a post-mortem examination on its own premises. Source: BBC News