54 crocodiles and pythons burnt alive in Gold Coast garage fire

At least 54 reptiles, including crocodiles and pythons, perished in a fire that broke out at the garage of a house they were being kept in by a reptile handler in Queensland, Australia.

The incident took place on Tuesday when the licensed reptile handler had gone out of his house. He found out about the fire when he saw smoke coming out of his house from afar. "He went to his garage [which had] a number of reptile enclosures and saw flames in the room," said the Queensland police.

The fire, which broke out at around 11:40 pm on Tuesday, continued for hours. The emergency services did manage to put out the flames eventually at the Currawong Crescent property, but the reptiles could not be saved.

The reptiles that died in the fire included 20 adult pythons, around 30 baby pythons, and four crocodiles, measuring 3ft to 4ft. The reptiles were kept in their cages in the garage and had no way to escape and save their lives. There was no other damage to the house or any injuries to the man.

The police have said that the fire is not being treated as suspicious and is alleged to have been started by a power board in the garage. The identity of the 32-year-old reptile handler has not been made public by the police, according to a report in The Independent.

The incident comes a day after a massive fire broke out at the Nerang Caravan Park on the Gold Coast. The blaze had ripped through multiple structures at the park sending plumes of smoke billowing over the area.

As many as five people were treated for smoke inhalation but fortunately no one suffered serious injuries. No one required treatment at a hospital as paramedics managed to look after them on the spot. The cause of the fire is not yet clear and the authorities are carrying out a probe.