The zoo said 9-year-old Misha died in the blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
An aardvark died and four meerkats are still missing after a fire destroyed parts of the London Zoo on Saturday morning.
The blaze began about 6 a.m. in the Animal Adventure section, the zoo said, before spreading to a nearby shop.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) arrived at the scene in minutes as zoo keepers and security officers rushed to protect animals by moving them to enclosures.
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The blaze drew 10 fire engines and 72 LFB firefighters and officers to the scene. Crews battled the fire for hours before it was deemed under control at 9:16 a.m.
“When they arrived our crews were faced with a very well developed fire,” said LFB Station Manager David George. “They worked incredibly hard in arduous conditions to bring it under control as quickly as possible to stop it from spreading to neighboring animal enclosures.”
Misha, a 9-year-old aardvark, died in the fire. As of 12:45 p.m. local time, the zoo reported four meerkats were “unaccounted for.” However, vets are monitoring other animals in the area. Early indications show those animals were not affected by the fire.
LFB said the adventure café and shop were destroyed by the fire along with half of a petting zoo.
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“We are all naturally devastated by this,” the zoo said in a statement, “but are immensely grateful to the fire brigade, who reacted quickly to the situation to bring the fire under control.”
The fire caused one firefighter a minor wrist injury and a number of zoo staff were treated for shock and smoke inhalation.
The Fire Brigade said the cause of the fire is under investigation. The zoo, which is closed Saturday, said it’s too early to speculate on a cause.
