Local News

UK zookeeper killed by tiger

“This appears to have been a freak accident."
Tiger kills zookeeper at Hamerton Zoo.Facebook

A female zookeeper has died after she entered a tiger enclosure at Britain’s Hamerton Zoo Park.

News of the woman’s death has been confirmed on Twitter this morning by Cambridgeshire Police.

“A keeper sadly died when a tiger entered the enclosure with her. At no point did the tiger escape from enclosure,” they wrote.

According to police the public weren’t put at risk, and no animals had escaped.

The zoo has issued a statement saying staff was “too distressed to speak directly to the media as one of our colleagues was killed this morning.

“This appears to have been a freak accident.

“A full investigation is under way and we hope that more details can be announced as soon as we are able.”

Hamerton Zoo’s ‘white’ male ‘Blizzard’ was born at CERZA in northern France and his mate ‘Lady-Belle’ came from a circus in Belgium. Photo: Facebook

Pete Davis, an eyewitness, told the Telegraph he saw the female keeper run into the tiger enclosure to help a colleague who could be heard shouting. Not long after she entered, Davis said screams could be heard.

“There’s no doubting it was a girl’s cream and something terrible had happened. It sounds like a tiger turned on her.”

Another keeper came out and told zoo visitors to run, Davis said.

Metro reports an air ambulance flew to the scene to try to save the woman, along with police and paramedics.

Hamerton Zoo’s website says it’s had tigers since 2001. In 2014, zoo expanded its facilities into “Land of the Tigers” with “large show off dens” that allowed visitors to see the tigers inside their indoor housing through glass windows.

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