The fire in the German zoo leaves no monkey alive

Tens of animals, including gorillas, Orangutans, and chimpanzees, died in the western German town of Crefeld after a fire broke out in a zoo.

The fire was likely caused by beacons from the Chinese sky that took place amid New Year's celebrations and landed in the zoo, police said Wednesday afternoon.

Local residents sounded the alarm at 0.38 am local time. When the fire department arrived at the zoo shortly thereafter, they found the burnt bodies of tropical monkeys involved in a fire that could not be maintained before the building had been burned in its skeleton structure.

Our worst affair has become reality,” said the zoo management in a Facebookd message. No animal survived the Monkey Zoo. ”

The zoo opened in 1975 and housed 10 large monkeys and many smaller monkeys, tropical birds. German media reported on Wednesday morning that more than 30 animals were dead.

Investigators believe the fire was most likely caused by beacons of Chinese sky, also known as the Kongming lanterns, who were illegally deployed in the city, police said at a news conference Wednesday.

Several witnesses had reported low-flying lanterns in the city on Tuesday evening, and three headlights with handwritten messages were found near the zoo, a police spokesman said.

Putting rockets and fireworks on the road is a key part of Germany's New Year's ritual, and the law allows citizens to light their fireworks in public on December 31st and January 1st.

In recent years there has been a growing debate over a ban on pyrotechnics, and about 30 German municipalities imposed partial bans on private fireworks this year.

However, the sale of Chinese sky lanterns is already illegal in all German countries.

The Krefeld Zoo management said that some workers were still in shock, and the zoo would remain closed to the public on January 1st.