More than 500 animals have been killed after a fire broke out at a shopping centre.

The 579 animals, most of which were small birds, were housed inside a pet shop at the Plaza Latina in Dallas, Texas, where the fire occurred on Friday, the authorities said.

The blaze took about two hours and as many as 45 firefighters to put out, Dallas Fire and Rescue (DFR) spokesman Jason Evans said in a statement.

While the flames never reached the animals, they were killed by smoke inhalation. Hundreds of birds, as well as chickens, hamsters, two dogs and two cats died, Mr Evans added.

He said: “While DFR personnel did search and attempt rescue, all animals in the shop unfortunately perished due to smoke inhalation.”

No people were injured in the fire, which severely damaged the structure of the one-storey shopping centre and caused its roof to partially collapse.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

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Plaza Latina is described on its Facebook page as “a place where people can go to eat, and buy all sorts of Latin goods and services”.

A post in Spanish asks for prayers for the families who worked there and states the shopping centre will be closed until further notice.