Inferno in Switzerland

Pigsty burns down, 800 animals perish

The scene of the fire near the Swiss border.

(Bild: Kantonspolizei St. Gallen)

In the Swiss municipality of Gossau, not far from the border with Vorarlberg, two pigsties caught fire early on Wednesday evening for as yet unexplained reasons. The consequences were tragic.

When the emergency services arrived at the scene of the fire shortly after 5 p.m., they were met with a scene of horror: one barn was already ablaze with flames, while thick clouds of smoke billowed through the second. 1500 pigs of various ages were still in the buildings at the time, and the background noise was correspondingly haunting.

The approximately 100 firefighters tried to save what could still be saved: they immediately began extinguishing the fire, while at the same time using fans to bring fresh air into the smoke-filled second barn. Thanks to this measure, the 90 mother pigs and 600 piglets were saved.

The other barn, however, burned to the ground. It was also not possible to evacuate the pigs because parts of the roof collapsed just a few minutes after the fire department arrived. In addition, the extinguishing work was very difficult due to a shortage of water, and transport pipes had to be laid first. This meant that the pigs could not be rescued.

The two pigsties affected by the fire.

(Bild: Kantonspolizei St. Gallen)

On Thursday morning, the St. Gallen cantonal police finally confirmed officially that all 800 animals were dead. The residential building next to the two stables was also damaged by the fire, and the total damage is likely to amount to several hundred thousand euros. The cause of the fire is still completely unknown and investigations by the "Competence Center Forensics" of the St. Gallen cantonal police are ongoing.