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A reporter stands facing the Sumatran tigers' pen in the zoo. AP/Press Association Images
Poland
Experienced zookeeper mauled to death by tiger
The incident happened at Wroclaw zoo this morning.
A SUMATRAN TIGER mauled its keeper to death at a zoo in Poland’s southwestern city of Wroclaw this morning.
“The accident occurred at 8am local time. The employee was mortally wounded by the predator while he was cleaning its cage. The 58-year-old man died on the spot,” Wroclaw police spokesman Kamil Rynkiewicz told AFP.
“It appears likely that human error is to blame,” Wroclaw Zoo spokesman Radoslaw Ratajszczak said in a statement.
An investigation has been launched to determine whether the keeper, among the zoo’s most experienced employees, had followed regulations on the job, Rynkiewicz said.
According to local media, Ryszard Pakla had been working at the zoo since July 2004. A second worker, who was also in the area at the time of the attack, escaped injury.
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