More than 500 animals have died after a fire in a shopping center.
The 579 animals, most of them small birds, were housed inside a pet store in Plaza Latina in dallas, Texaswhere the fire occurred on Friday, authorities said.
The fire took approximately two hours and up to 45 firefighters were extinguished, Dallas Fireplace and Rescue (DFR) spokesman Jason Evans said in a statement.
Although the flames never reached the animals, they died from smoke inhalation. Hundreds of birds, as well as chickens, hamsters, two dogs and two cats died, Evans added.
He said: “While DFR staff searched and attempted to rescue, unfortunately all of the animals in the store died due to smoke inhalation.”
There were no injuries in the fire, which severely damaged the structure of the single-story shopping center and caused the roof to partially collapse.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
More from Sky Information:
The soldier who blew up Tesla left notes
Waiter arrested over Liam Payne’s death
Plaza Latina is described on its Facebook page as “a place where people can go to eat and buy all kinds of Latin products and services.”
A post in Spanish asks for prayers for the families who worked there and states that the mall will be closed until further notice.
