More than 30 great apes died in the fire on New Year’s Eve in Krefeld Zoo. A report to the state parliament now reveals new details of the tragedy.
After the fire in the Krefeld zoo on New Year’s Night, hitherto unknown, dramatic scenes have occurred: A seriously injured gorilla had to be killed by a police officer in the morning by several shots from a submachine gun, since the veterinarian was unable to put the animal to sleep , This emerges from a report by the Interior Ministry to the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, police officers had already posted around the monkey house with submachine guns during the fire to stop injured or panicked animals to protect the emergency services. This did not happen. According to the report, the rescuers assumed that all animals were dead. Around 8:00 a.m., two seriously injured animals were found, of which the veterinarian put an orangutan female to sleep. The officer killed the gorilla after being released by the police leader.
“Immense emotional stress”
With the 34-year-old shooter, several intensive talks were held in the following days out of care, the report goes on to the state parliament. “The report by the Ministry of the Interior only gives an idea of how stressful the effort must have been for the fire, rescue and police forces and the zoo staff,” said Verena Schäffer, the Green Party spokeswoman for the Greens.
In fact, the “emotional strain on all emergency workers and zoo staff was immense,” the report said. “During and after the assignment, the emergency services and staff were offered psychological support.”
Greens call for better fire protection in zoos
The Ministry of the Interior also carries out the current investigation in the report. Accordingly, at 2.20 a.m. – less than two hours after the fire brigade was alerted – the first witnesses had given evidence of sky lanterns. The next day, three women answered, who had let five of the lights go up after midnight. Two got stuck in a tree, three flew on. According to the Ministry of the Interior, one landed on the roof of the monkey house – where, according to the report, “it came into contact with unknown, flammable material. In the course of the fire, the building started to burn and then burned.”
The Green Party politician Schäffer told the German press agency: “The state government must take this terrible event as an occasion to ensure that fire regulations in the zoos are tightened. This includes, for example, the obligation to install fire alarm and sprinkler systems in the entire building stock.”
The fire in the monkey house killed more than 30 animals. Two chimpanzees survived injured. According to a message from the zoo in early January, they are on the mend.
– ,
