Bangkok, June 11 (EFE).- Hundreds of caged animals were killed in a fire early Tuesday morning in the pet zone of Bangkok’s famous Chatuchak Market, visited by hundreds of thousands of people every weekend.
According to public broadcaster Thai PBS, the fire occurred around 4 am on Tuesday (21:00 GMT Monday), and it took firefighters up to an hour to extinguish the blaze that affected more than 100 stores.
There have been no human casualties reported.
The deputy director of Bangkok Metropolitan istration’s Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, Suriyachai Rawiwan, said the fire broke out in the tropical fish market and then spread to surrounding areas, and that among the dead animals were several hundred pets, including birds, dogs, cats, chickens and snakes, which could not escape the blaze as they were caged, according to Thai PBS.
Suriyachai added that the roof covering the shops is in danger of collapsing and that the police are continuing to investigate the cause.
With 15,000 stalls spread across 35 hectares visited by about 200,000 people per weekend, Chatuchak is the largest weekend market in the world, it highlights on its website, and is one of the top tourist sites in the Thai capital.
The market has 26 sections, including handicrafts, clothing, food, art, antiques, books, plants and furniture, while even illegal and exotic animals have been reported to have been held in the pet zone.
The fire once again raises concerns about safety measures and animal welfare in markets. EFE
pav/tw
