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German zoo fire kills over 30 animals including apes, monkeys and bats

Image: Firemen work to extinguish flames as the ape house burns at Krefeld
Firemen work to extinguish flames as the ape house burns at Krefeld Zoo in Germany on early Jan. 1, 2020, Copyright  Alexander Forstreuter / DPA
Copyright Alexander Forstreuter / DPA
By Kalhan Rosenblatt with NBC News World News
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"There are no surviving animals in the monkey house. However, the gorilla garden has been spared," a tweet from the city of Krefeld, Germany, read.

A zoo in Krefeld, Germany, suffered a devastating fire that killed animals inits monkey house, according to local officials.

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At approximately 12:40 p.m. local time, Krefeld's police and fire departments were called to respond to a burning building at Zoo Krefeld.

When the arrived on scene they found the zoo's Great Ape House ablaze, and were unable to enter.

Dozens of animals, including orangutans, chimpanzees and marmosets, were killed when an ape house caught fire at Krefeld Zoo in Germany on Jan. 1, 2020.
Dozens of animals, including orangutans, chimpanzees and marmosets, were killed when an ape house caught fire at Krefeld Zoo in Germany on Jan. 1, 2020. Christoph Reichwein / DPA

"There are no surviving animals in the monkey house. However, the gorilla garden has been spared," a tweet from the city of Krefeld, Germany, read afterward.

More than 30 animals died in the blaze, including monkeys, apes, bats and birds, The Associated Press reported.

In a Facebook post, the zoo wrote that two chimpanzees named Bally and Limbo survived the fire, were "only slightly injured" and were being cared for by veterinarians at the zoo.

Kidogo the gorilla also survived and was doing well, according to the tweet from the city of Krefeld.

The charred remains of the ape house at Krefeld Zoo on Jan. 1, 2020.
The charred remains of the ape house at Krefeld Zoo on Jan. 1, 2020. Thilo Schmuelgen

"We would like to thank you on this way for the overwhelming wave of compassion and assistance that reach us on all channels," the zoo wrote in a post in German. "We also thank you for the solidarity in social networks. We read everything, but we can't manage to respond to it yet.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear and the Facebook post went on to say that the monkey house was at risk of collapsing and cordoned off by fire experts and the police.

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Zoo Krefeld's websitedescribed the Great Ape House as a 2,000-square meter tropical house built in 1975. In addition to apes, the facility also housed flying foxes and free-roaming birds.

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