Animals dead, missing in London Zoo blaze

LONDON— More than 70 firefighters battled a blaze at the London Zoo early Saturday that engulfed a café, killed at least one animal — an aardvark — and left some staff members suffering from smoke inhalation, the zoo said.

Four meerkats were missing, a spokesperson for the zoo said.

The zoo, in Regent’s Park in central London, will remain closed until further notice.

The fire broke out shortly after 6 a.m. local time in the Animal Adventure section — near an area where visitors feed the animals — and spread to an adjacent gift shop and café, the zoo said in a statement.

Staff members quickly moved animals such as llamas and camels to safety, and the fire was brought under control around 9:16 a.m.

“A number of zoo staff have been treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and shock,” the zoo said. “Our staff are now in the process of assessing the situation in difficult conditions.”

The zoo discovered later that a nine-year-old aardvark named Misha had died, the spokesperson said.

“We are all naturally devastated by this, but are immensely grateful to the fire brigade, who reacted quickly to the situation to bring the fire under control,” the zoo said.

Clive Robinson, a station manager for the London Fire Brigade, said, according to Reuters: “The fire mainly affected the café and shop. Part of a nearby animal petting area was also affected.”

The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

The world’s oldest scientific zoo, the London Zoo dates from the1800s and houses more than 20,000 animals, according to its 2017 inventory.

The zoo is estimated to receive more than one million visitors each year.