Thousands of pigs die as southern Manitoba hog barn goes up in flames

Roughly 7,500 pigs died in a blaze at ahog barn in southeast ManitobaFriday morning, the chief of the Rural Municipality of Hanover Fire Department says.

Fire crews were called to the blaze at a large three-barn hog operation just north of the community of Pansy, Man., around 6:45 a.m.

"One of the barns was completely involved with fire and it was quickly spreading to the second barn," said fire ChiefPaul Wiebe.

"The total complex housed 3,000 sows and about 6,000 weanlings. We managed to save about 1,500 of the sows, so the rest have all perished.

"Our crews did a fantastic job trying to save the one barn that housed those 1,500 sows and we were able to stop [the fire] before it reached them."

Employees who were in the barns when the fire started were able to get out, said Wiebe, and no people were injured in the blaze.

The Office of the Fire Commissioner is investigating the cause of the fire. A damage estimate wasn't immediately available.

Pansy is about 25 kilometressouth of Steinbach, Man.