A female Siberian tiger attacked and killed a 55-year-old zookeeper at Zurich's zoo in Switzerland on Saturday (local time), authorities have said.
Rescue crews were unable to save the woman, who died at the scene. A park visitor reported the attack and zoo staff lured the five-year-old tiger, named Irina, away from the victim and into a stall, police and the zoo confirmed.
Circumstances of the attack are still under investigation.
The tiger enclosure in Zurich also holds a four-year-old male called Sayan, according to the zoo's website.
Irina, who is still alive after the incident, originally came from a zoo in Odense, Denmark, a year ago and replaced a female who died from complications following a fight with Sayan.
"This is a young animal that so far has behaved entirely naturally as a tiger does," zoo director Severin Dressen told reporters, adding it was unclear why the tiger and the zookeeper were in the enclosure at the same time.
Witnesses to the incident and zoo staff are receiving counselling.
The Zurich zoo reopened a month ago after being closed due to the coronavirus crisis.
Reuters
