Tiger kills female zookeeper in UK 'accident'

The predator never escaped his enclosure during the Monday attack, the Cambridgeshire Police said in a brief statement posted online.

"A tiger had entered an enclosure with a keeper. Sadly the female zookeeper died at the scene," they said. "The incident is not believed to be suspicious."

An air ambulance was summoned to help the victim, but the medics were not able to save her life.

Management at Hamerton Zoo Park ordered all visitors evacuated after the news of the tiger attack. The visitors were removed calmly and without panic, according to an eyewitness cited by the AP news agency.

The park is located some 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of London, and  hosts around 500 animals, including Malaysian and Bengal tigers.

The facility will be closed on Tuesday as authorities proceed with a full investigation, the management said on their website.

"This appears to have been a freak accident," they added, stressing that public safety was never "affected in any way."

The staff were "too distressed to speak directly to the media," according to the statement.

dj/jm (AP, dpa, AFP)