KREFELD, Germany, Jan 2 (Reuters) — A Chinese lantern, launched by a 60-year-old mother and her two adult daughters in a New Year’s Eve celebration, caused the fire at a German zoo in which dozens of animals were killed, including eight great apes, authorities said. Four had been found in the vicinity, while the fifth had been consumed in the zoo blaze. “It was courageous of them to turn themselves in: that deserves respect,” he added, saying he would give no further details about the women, since they had received threats. “The pain is unbelievable,” Wolfgang Dressen, director of the zoo, told public broadcaster WDR. Department store chain Real said on Thursday that it would stop selling the lanterns, which are still permitted in the northern, coastal region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Source: National Post January 02, 2020 12:33 UTC