Fire kills hundreds of caged animals, including puppies and birds, at famous market in Thailand

Hundreds of caged animals died on Tuesday after a fire struck the Chatuchak weekend market, one of the Thai capital's most famous markets.

The fire was reported early in the morning and quickly gutted more than 100 stores in the pet section of the market, according to the Bangkok government. Authorities said the fire was started by an electrical short circuit, the BBC reported.

Authorities said it took them about an hour to bring the fire under control. No human casualties were reported, but Thai media suggested the fire killed several hundred animals, including puppies, fish, snakes, birds and rabbits, kept in cages and locked in inside the stores.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, who visited the scene after the fire was extinguished, said people could help affected traders by offering to house surviving animals. Officials could be seen on site in the morning, inspecting charred stores or breaking metal gates to remove animals that survived the fire.

Officials said they were still working to estimate the cost of the damage and that affected store owners could seek compensation.

The vast weekend market is a major tourist attraction, attracting shoppers from all over the world to browse its hundreds of shops and stalls for items ranging from food and drink to clothing, furniture, plants, books and pets. It claims to attract almost 200,000 tourists every Saturday and Sunday, the BBC reported.

Conservation organizations have often accused some sellers of being involved in the trafficking of rare and endangered species, such as tortoises, tortoises, birds and even exotic cats. In 2013, police found 14 white lions imported from Africa and hundreds of other protected animals into a warehouse near Bangkok and arrested a man who owned an exotic pet store at the Chatuchak weekend market.

The BBC reported that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said the fire “highlights the urgent need for action.”

“The animals are not ours for entertainment… PETA urges the Thai government to ensure that this facility, where animals in captivity suffer, never reopens,” said the group's senior vice president, Jason Baker. .

The Wildlife Friends Foundation in Thailand called the market “a disgrace for Bangkok,” the BBC reported.

“Many of these poor animals are smuggled into the country, often illegally. It is immoral, cruel, dangerous to health and safety and completely unnecessary,” said the foundation's director, Edwin Wiek.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.