Romanian authorities say a zoo worker was attacked and killed by a tiger while cleaning an animal cage.
City officials posted on social media that the attack occurred in the south-central Romanian city of Pitesti on Monday morning.
According to the statement, a preliminary investigation by police revealed that the 52-year-old victim, an employee of the Pitesti Zoo, entered the tiger’s cage without following safety regulations and sustained fatal injuries.
The employee had been working at the zoo since 2015, authorities said. It was the first such attack at the zoo in 50 years.
Officials said an internal investigation is underway.
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Mayor: Zoo activities suspended after staff member was attacked and killed by a tiger
The city’s mayor, Cristian Gentea, shared his thoughts with the victim’s family in a post on his Facebook page, adding that he had ordered a temporary suspension of activities at the zoo while an investigation was carried out.
Witnesses told Romanian media Evenimentul Zilei that the attack was extremely violent and local police have opened a criminal case for manslaughter.
Zoo leaders and staff have been deeply affected by the incident, officials said in a news release.
Natalie Neisa Alland is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her at X @nataliealund.
