LONDON (Reuters) - An aardvark was killed and four meerkats are missing believed dead after a blaze tore through part of London Zoo early on Saturday, destroying a cafe and gift shop. 
 
 The fire broke out shortly after 0600 GMT at the zoo’s Animal Adventure section before spreading to the shop and cafe, near to an area where visitors can handle and feed animals, the zoo and London Fire Brigade said. 
 
 More than 70 firefighters took three hours to bring the fire under control while desperate keepers who live on the site in Regent’s Park in central London moved animals to safety. Some of the staff needed treatment for smoke inhalation and shock. 
 
 Ten-year-old Misha the aardvark, one of the zoo’s best-loved animals, perished in the fire and four of the meerkats were unaccounted for and are also presumed to have died. 
 
 Taking their name from the Afrikaans word for “earth-pig”, aardvarks are large burrowing mammals found across much of Africa. 
 
 Firefighters are seen tackling a blaze at London Zoo following a fire which broke out at a shop and cafe at the attraction, in this photograph received from London Fire Brigade, in central London, Britain December 23, 2017. London Fire Brigade/Handout via REUTERS 
 
 “We’re absolutely devastated that Misha the aardvark has been killed and we’re still trying to find out what happened to the meerkats, but at the moment the site where this fire took place is closed down,” Dominic Jermey, the zoo’s Director General, told BBC TV. 
 
 “At the moment we’re not certain what has happened to the meerkats but I’m not optimistic at this stage, unfortunately.” 
 
 Other animals nearby are being monitored by vets, but the zoo said indications were that they were unaffected. It said it hoped to reopen on Sunday. 
 
 It is the world’s oldest scientific zoo, dating from 1826, and houses 20,166 animals, according to its inventory for 2017. 
 
 The fire brigade said it had sent 10 fire engines and 72 firefighters to the scene and added that the cause of the blaze was under investigation. 
 
 “The fire mainly involved the cafe and shop but part of a nearby animal petting area was also affected,” said Station Manager David George. 
 
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 “When they arrived our crews were faced with a very well developed fire. They worked incredibly hard in arduous conditions to bring it under control as quickly as possible and to stop it from spreading to neighboring animal enclosures.” ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption London Zoo 'devastated' by aardvark fire death 
 
 Staff have been injured and an aardvark and possibly four meerkats killed in a fire at London Zoo. 
 
 About 70 firefighters tackled the blaze at its height in the Animal Adventure section that spread to a shop. 
 
 One person was taken to hospital and eight were treated at the scene. 
 
 The zoo said an aardvark called Misha died in the fire and four meerkats were still unaccounted for, presumed dead. The zoo was shut on Saturday but said it would reopen on Sunday. 
 
 The cause of the fire is not yet known. 
 
 Image copyright Brendan Cooney/Reuters Image caption Photographs posted on social media showed orange flames rising from the building 
 
 Ten fire engines went to the zoo, which sits in the capital's Regent's Park, shortly after 06:00 GMT and the fire was brought under control about three hours later. 
 
 Six people were given help at the scene for the effects of smoke inhalation and two for minor injuries, London Ambulance Service said. 
 
 One person was taken to a north-west London hospital, the service said. 
 
 Image copyright London Fire Brigade 
 
 Image copyright Charlie Bard 
 
 Duty staff who live on site were on the scene "immediately" and started moving animals to safety, the zoo said. 
 
 In a statement the zoo said it was "devastated" about what had happened. 
 
 It said: "Sadly our vets have confirmed the death of our nine-year-old aardvark, Misha. There are also four meerkats still unaccounted for, but we are now presuming these have also died. 
 
 "All other animals in the vicinity are being monitored closely by our vets, but early signs suggest they have not been affected. We will continue to monitor them over the coming days. 
 
 "We are all naturally devastated by this, but are immensely grateful to the fire brigade, who reacted quickly to the situation to bring the fire under control. " 
 
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 Adnan Abdul Husein said he saw the blaze from a nearby park when he was out walking his dog, and alerted zoo security. 
 
 "It didn't look like smoke just coming out of a chimney - it was quite heavy", he said. 
 
 "As I got closer to the zoo I could see that it was actually inside the zoo so I went over to the security and told them, 'there's flames or there's smoke coming from inside there, do you know anything about it?'. And they obviously didn't have a clue." 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images 
 
 London Fire Brigade (LFB) station manager Clive Robinson, who was at the scene, said three-quarters of the cafe and shop had been affected by the fire and half of the roof. 
 
 He said: "Firefighters worked hard to bring the fire under control as quickly as possible and to stop it from spreading to neighbouring animal enclosures." 
 
 Image copyright @PaulWood1961 
 
 Image copyright London Fire Brigade Image caption The cause of the fire is not yet known, London Fire Brigade said
– A beloved aardvark is dead and four meerkats are missing after a fire tore through part of the London Zoo on Saturday, Reuters reports. The fire mostly damaged a cafe and gift shop but impacted an animal petting area, as well. Misha, a 10-year-old aardvark and one of the most popular animals at the zoo, was killed. Four meerkates are missing. “We’re not certain what has happened to the meerkats, but I‘m not optimistic at this stage, unfortunately," the zoo's director general says. Staff appear to have been successful getting all other animals to safety. One person was hospitalized and eight others were treated at the the scene for smoke inhalation, shock, and minor injuries, according to the BBC. The London Zoo—the oldest scientific zoo in the world and home to over 20,000 animals—plans to reopen Sunday. The cause of the fire is under investigation.