A fire broke out in a German zoo, killing more than 30 animals on the morning of Jan. 1, 2020, according to multiple reports.
CBS News reported that authorities believed that the fire could have been caused by the paper lanterns witnesses reportedly saw in the sky a little after midnight on Wednesday. According to the news outlet, the lanterns were used to celebrate the new year. According to the police, the zoo caught on fire after the lanterns were seen floating at a low-altitude near the zoo.
"People reported seeing those sky lanterns flying at low altitudes near the zoo and then it started burning," said Gerd Hoppmann, the local head of criminal police, CBS News reported.
Hoppmann said the use of the sky lanterns is illegal in Krefeld, as well as various other places in Germany, and anyone who witnessed them being launched into the sky should contact authorities. But fireworks are generally allowed and welcomed during the new year, and individuals are allowed to purchase them.
"It's close to a miracle that Bally, a 40-year-old female chimpanzee, and Limbo, a younger male, survived this inferno," said Wolfgang Dressen, the zoo director, according to CBS News. Dressen also said that many of the zoo animal handlers were in shock and devastated by the tragedy.
"We have to seriously work through the mourning process. This is an unfathomable tragedy," Dressen said.
He further spoke of the animals that perished during the fire, 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."
CBS News also reported that Gorilla Garden that was near the Ape House did not set ablaze, and the gorilla and its six family members did not get hurt.