Thousands of cold-stunned sea turtles find refuge in Texas convention centre

  • Video report by ITV News US Correspondent Emma Murphy


A convention centre in Texas has become a temporary refugee for thousands of cold-stunned sea turtles.

Truck loads of the creatures are turning up every hour as the town's residents, some of them lacking heat or basic amenities in their own homes due to the unusually chilly weather, bring them in to be cared for at the centre.

There are an estimated 4,500 sea turtles currently being cared for in the centre as the state experiences bitterly cold weather.

Ed Caum, Executive Director of the South Padre Island Convention & Visitors Bureau said: "Day two, and volunteers continue to recover sea turtles and bring them to South Padre Island Convention Center. We'll try to help them rewarm and recover."

Deadly winter storms have hit the southern states of America leaving millions without electricity or heat.

Texas officials ordered seven million people — a quarter of the population of America's second-largest state — to boil tap water before drinking it following days of record low temperatures that damaged infrastructure and froze pipes.