- Title: Fire at German zoo kills scores of animals in monkey house
- Date: 1st January 2020
- Summary: KREFELD, GERMANY (JANUARY 1, 2020) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** MONKEY HOUSE SEEN BEHIND ZOO WALL / PAINTING ON WALL SHOWING MONKEYS BURNT MONKEY HOUSE BUILDING (SOUNDBITE) (German) KREFELD ZOO DIRECTOR, WOLFGANG DRESSEN, SAYING: "On this very sad day I would like to say it is the hardest day the Krefeld Zoo has ever had. Our monkey house was a victim of the flames, of a fire that started more or less around midnight. We don't know exactly when it started yet but it burnt down the house completely." JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) KREFELD ZOO DIRECTOR, WOLFGANG DRESSEN, SAYING: "For us it is especially tragic that the tenants of this house, birds and mammals, were victims of the fire last night. Among them were highly-endangered monkeys like orangutans from Borneo, lowland gorillas from Central Africa and chimpanzees from West Africa. All of them highly endangered species who will no longer be seen in our zoo." VARIOUS OF JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) KREFELD ZOO DIRECTOR, WOLFGANG DRESSEN, SAYING: "Two chimpanzees survived this hell of flames. One of them is Bally, an old animal who is over 40 years old, Bally, spelled B-A-L-L-Y, and one of our youngest male animals, Limbo." PHOTOGRAPHERS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) KREFELD POLICE SOPKESPERSON, GERD HOPPMANN, SAYING: "We have opened an investigation commission. As we do in every fire investigation, we remain neutral and focus on finding the cause. I am saying this because we already have indications (of what caused the fire) but our investigation is very neutral and we will determine the cause by eliminating wrong theories and whether there has been any negligence regarding this fire." JOURNALIST TYPING (SOUNDBITE) (German) KREFELD POLICE SOPKESPERSON, GERD HOPPMANN, SAYING: "Some witnesses saw these torches (referring to Sky Lanterns) flying close to the zoo and very low, so we can assume they fell on the ground in this area. And really close time-wise, we have witnesses saying that it burned as well on the roof. So, so far, and unless we find another cause for the fire, it looks like these torches were the cause of it." VARIOUS OF BURNT MONKEY HOUSE VARIOUS OF FIREMEN CHECKING DAMAGE BURNT MONKEY HOUSE
- Embargoed: 15th January 2020 12:04
- Keywords: Krefeld fire mokeys monkey sanctuary zoo
- Location: KREFELD, GERMANY
- City: KREFELD, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Fires,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA002BUCCZT3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A fire ripped through the monkey house at a German zoo on New Year's Eve, killing roughly 30 animals inside, the zoo said on Wednesday (January 1).
Chimpanzees, orangutans, a gorilla, bats and birds were among the animals who died at Krefeld Zoo, near the Dutch border.
Two chimpanzees, Bally and Limbo, survived, said zoo director Wolfgang Dressen who described the fire as "the hardest day the Krefeld Zoo has ever had".
Police spokesman Gerd Hoppman said the cause was unknown but investigators were exploring the possibility it had been started by a Sky Lantern, adding they are forbidden in the region since 2009.
(Production: Erol Dogrudogan, David Sahl and Elena Gyldenkerne) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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