A fire broke out at a zoo in Germany, resulting in the deaths of most of the animals in the monkey enclosure.
The incident began in the early hours of New Year’s Day at the Krefeld Zoo in northwestern Germany. More than 30 animals, including five orangutans, two gorillas, a chimpanzee, and several monkeys, as well as fruit bats and birds, were killed, CBS News reported.
The zoo noted that two chimpanzees, Bally and Limbo, survived the fire and are only “slightly injured,” according to the zoo. They called Bally and Limbo’s survival a “miracle.”
Zoo director Wolfgang Dressen said in a press conference that it was “the hardest day that Krefeld Zoo has ever had,” according to CNN.
“For us, it is especially tragic that the tenants of this house, birds and mammals, were victims of the fire last night,” he said. “Among them were highly endangered monkeys like orangutans from Borneo, lowland gorillas from Central Africa, and chimpanzees from West Africa.”
While it’s unconfirmed what started the fire, investigators believe sky lanterns, which are illegal in Germany, released to celebrate the new year, could have started the fire. Gerd Hoppmann, the city’s head of criminal police, told reporters, “People reported seeing those sky lanterns flying at low altitude near the zoo, and then it started burning.”
The zoo did not open on Wednesday.
