One missing person and 500 dead animals in farmhouse fire in Bottens VD
Published: Thursday, Dec 21st 2023, 15:30
Updated At: Thursday, Dec 21st 2023, 15:30
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One person is still missing following the fire on a farm in Bottens, Vaud, on Thursday afternoon. Around 500 cattle died in the flames. The fire was under control, but extinguishing work continued.
Rescue teams were still searching for the person who lived on the farm in the afternoon, according to the Vaud cantonal police. "We hope that we can rule out the possibility that this person was there," said a police spokesman.
The alarm was received by the police at around 1.30 am. When the fire department arrived, the farm was completely engulfed in flames and the area was completely destroyed. The owners were able to save around 50 cattle and some agricultural machinery. The more than 500 animals that died were mainly adult cattle and calves.
A neighbor of the farm told the news portal 24heures.ch that he could hear the animals screaming during the night. "It was terrible."
Some of the animals, which were partially burnt or had suffered smoke poisoning, also had to be euthanized after the rescue services arrived, as Patrick Sauty, inspector of the cantonal buildings insurance, told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
The cause of the fire was initially unknown. Investigations were underway. The public prosecutor's office initiated a criminal investigation.
Complicated use
By late morning, the fire was "almost completely under control", as the police explained to Keystone-SDA. However, extinguishing work was still underway as some of the fodder was still burning. This work will be fully completed in the course of Friday morning, Sauty said.
He described the operation as complicated. "When we arrived, the entire building was completely engulfed in flames. The water supply is quite far away. So we had to build up the entire water supply to fight and, above all, extinguish the fire."
Around 60 firefighters, five police patrols, an ambulance and two vets were deployed to the scene.
©Keystone/SDA
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