Thousands of chicks died from overheating in a warehouse at Miami Airport, officials said

The chicks were loaded onto metal luggage carts and sat in the south Florida sun for some time, according to CNN affiliate WPLG.

The temperature at the airport at the time was 90 degrees, which is also its highest today, with a feel-like temperature of 98 degrees, according to meteorologists at CNN. Asphalt temperatures can be 40-60 degrees hotter than air.

Spokeswoman Erin Moffett said the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was notified Tuesday afternoon that “the birds died from overheating while waiting to be transported to the Bahamas.” “The remaining live chicks have reached their final destination,” Moffett said.

Representatives of farms in the Bahamas told WPLG of 5,200 chicks in the shipment initially, only about 1,300 chicks made it to them alive. Abaco Big Bird Family Farm employees said they were horrified by what had happened and had seen nothing like it in their 27 years in business.

Employees of Eulen America, an airport assistance services company, are “responsible for loading and unloading goods on board,” but transportation and delivery “is done by another company,” company spokeswoman Marla Gomez told CNN in a statement.

“We can understand and sympathize with the concern about the situation,” Gomez said. The company did not comment further, citing an investigation.

The Florida Department of Agriculture said “any investigation into the incident will be conducted by law enforcement officials.”

CNN has made multiple attempts to reach Delta, Alliance Ground and Abaco Big Bird Family Farm for comment but has not heard back.