A reindeer escaped a Christmas market in Piedmont after a blaze broke out burning down 40 stalls and causing chaos on Sunday. The female reindeer was one of two reindeer that made up ‘Santa’s Village’ in a village near Cuneo. It was quick to get away from the blaze however, and is still on the loose.

A reindeer is still missing in Cuneo, Italy after it escaped from a Christmas market in flames

A reindeer is still missing in Cuneo, Italy after it escaped from a Christmas market in flames Image by Lea Besson / CC BY 2.0

Firemen who spent three hours putting out the fire spotted the animal escaping through a gate but were unable to stop it. The search has now spread to the outlying woods and countryside around the village, but there have been no further sightings.

The reindeer’s owners told Italian newspaper La Stampa that they were concerned, as their reindeer is a ‘domesticated animal’ and unable to survive in the wild. They added: “There are many dangers; that her antlers get caught, that she gets hit by a car or mistaken for a deer by a hunter. We are scared that her heart might stop out of fear, as sometimes happens with these animals. We hope that she gets close to a residential area and someone lets us know.”