More Than 30 Animals Passed Away In Tragic Germany Zoo Fire On New Year's Eve

Jan 03, 2020 by apost team

This New Year’s Eve saw 30 animals at the Krefeld Zoo In Germany burn alive after a devasting fire broke out in the Ape House. 

Authorities responded to the fire just a few minutes before midnight and said the tragedy may have been caused by sky lanterns launched that night in celebration for the New Year. Three women, a 60-year-old along with her two adult daughters, have handed themselves into police on Wednesday. 

In the early morning of January 1, representatives at the zoo shared an update on their official Facebook account, announcing the Ape house had been “burnt down to its basic scaffolding.” All but two chimpanzees died in the fire. The 30 animals that did not make it included apes, bats, monkeys, orangutans, and birds. 

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“It’s close to a miracle that Bally, a 40-year-old female chimpanzee, and Limbo, a younger male, survived this inferno,” The zoo’s directer Wolfgang Dressen told CBS News.

Dressen added that the Zoo is now mourning the “unfathomable tragedy.” Although the incident is still under investigation by the Krefeld police force, reports say the fire is likely to have been caused by fire-lit paper lanterns which were part of the New Years’ celebration.

“People reported seeing those sky lanterns flying at low altitude near the zoo and then it started burning,” head of the Krefeld Police Department Gerd Hoppman told reporters.

Hoppman added that the use of these type of lanterns, sometimes dubbed Chinese lanterns, are illegal in Krefeld as well as many other parts in Germany. The authorities urged members of the public to come forward if they or anybody they now used the lanterns that likely started the fire. The following day, three local women handed themselves in to the police after hearing about the fire on a local radio report, as per the Guardian.

Hoppaman said the women “seemed like sensible and responsible people” and commenced them for the courage for coming forward. The women are now being investigated by local prosecutors for negligent arson, a crime that is punishable with up to 5 years in prison.

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