300 zoo animals drown in floodwaters from Ukrainian dam explosion

300 zoo animals drown in floodwaters from Ukrainian dam explosion: Workers could not evacuate the creatures because Russia had mined the family venue

• Flooding is a result of a major dam in southern Ukraine collapsing on Tuesday 
• The park is now completely underwater with only swans and ducks remaining

Some 300 animals have drowned at a Ukrainian zoo after it flooded following the dam blast in Ukraine.

The major dam in southern Ukraine collapsed early on Tuesday, triggering floods, endangering crops and threatening drinking water supplies.

But as both sides in the war scrambled to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the destruction, hundreds of animals were left behind and stranded to await their ill fate at the local Kazkova Dibrova zoo.

The zoo, located right on the bank of the Dnipro River in Russian-occupied Kherson, was previously home to monkeys, donkeys, horses, raccoons and other animals.

The park is now completely underwater, it was reported, with only swans and ducks remaining.

The major dam in southern Ukraine collapsed early on Tuesday, flooding the surrounding area including the local Kazkova Dibrova zoo

The zoo, located right on the bank of the Dnipro river in Russian-occupied Kherson, was previously home to monkeys (pictured) and other animals

Dozens of species that lived in the zoo were killed in the flooding following, including goats

The zoo, located right on the bank of the Dnipro river in Russian-occupied Kherson, was previously home to monkeys, donkeys, horses, racoons and other animals

‘The park was mined and it was impossible to evacuate the animals,’ a spokesperson  for Kazkova Dibrova zoo said.

‘We tried to save them. Every day, under fire, two workers risked their lives to go to Dibrova to feed the animals.

‘Now Russia has destroyed everything. Our soul is torn by pain.

Footage of the devastation circulated on social media with people sharing their horror at the hundreds of drowned creatures.

Pro-Ukrainian Twitter account Anton Gerashchenko shared footage of the flooding as well as the zoo’s residents in much happier times.

He said the locals reported that the authorities – belonging to Russia as part of the occupied Nova Kakhovka region – did nothing to help rescue the animals.

It comes as the Kremlin-installed mayor of the occupied Kherson region (Nova Kakhovka), Vladimir Leontyev, said the water level was continuing to rise.

‘An evacuation is being carried out of civilians from the adjacent flooded zones to preserve all lives,’ he said in a video message. ‘There is no panic in the town.’

Nova Kakhovka still had electricity, but two villages downstream were taken off the grid for safety reasons, Leontyev said.

The park is now completely underwater, it was reported, with only a few birds remaining

Some 300 of the animals have drowned and died at the zoo after it flooded following the dam blast in Ukraine

The zoo, located right on the bank of the Dnipro river in Russian-occupied Kherson was completely flooded

The zoo’s residents including horses, donkeys, and ponies were all killed in the flooding

Pro-Ukrainian Twitter account Anton Gerashchenko shared footage of the flooding as well as the zoo’s residents in much happier times

Monkeys, donkeys, horses, racoons and other animals were all killed in the flooding

An emergencies official alongside him said the water below the dam was expected to keep rising for 72 hours before subsiding and allowing a clean-up operation.

Images posted on social media showed a flooded central square in Nova Kakhovka, with waters halfway up the entrance doors to its neo-classical cultural centre.

Yevheniya, the female resident, said she was planning to stay.

‘I have a bedridden grandmother – 95 years old, she’s a veteran of the Second World War,’ she said.

‘Where will I go? Who will I leave her to? I am her guardian, and you have to follow your conscience.’

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