Around 1,000 animals were burnt alive in their cages following a fire in an open-air market in Bangkok, Thailand during the early hours of the morning.
The blaze at Chatuchak market saw dogs, cats, rabbits, snakes and birds among other creatures perish as 100 or so shops were also gutted. No people were injured and, according to authorities, the cause of the fire was an electrical short circuit. It took under one hour for officials to bring the fire under control.
The incident renewed calls for the popular market's pet zone to be closed down amid criticism of poor living conditions the animals experience, including reportedly high instances of disease and death. After an initial inspection, it was found that the fire damaged most of the 118 shops in the pet zone, which covers roughly 1,400 square metres (15,000 square feet).
A local shop owner named Meecha recalled her lucky escape following the fire after the cries of animals in the loft above her shop woke her up. "Suddenly, thick smoke filled the air, making it impossible to breathe," she told local news outlet Thaiger.
She was then able to climb out through a window to safety. Meanwhile, devastated shop owner Amporn Wannasut rushed to the market as soon as she heard about the fire.
She told told BBC News: "When I got here, everything was gone, all burned down. I couldn't do anything because it was dark inside as well. I couldn't help them at all. They were all gone.
"I don't even know what to do next. I think we have to start all over again but I don't know how." The 42-year-old went on to describe how she froze some of the dead snakes in order to calculate the amount of money she'd lost in her business that sold pythons and king snakes among other reptiles for pets.
The weekend market is a huge tourist attraction for the country and is one of South East Asia's biggest markets, drawing in approximately 200,000 people every Saturday and Sunday. But the pet zone is open throughout the rest of the week and sells an array of exotic and domestic animals. The area remains controversial, however, and is often subject to inspections.
Following the fire, The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) group slammed Chatuchak market and urged the Thai government to ensure that the site - where "captive animals suffer" - remains closed for good. The group's senior vice-president Jason Baker added that "animals are not ours to use for our entertainment," and that the fire "underscores the urgent need for action."