Man dies after entering tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, as Amy Lewis reports.
A man has died after suffering serious injuries in a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
Videos shared online appear to show the male being attacked by the big cat in Doncaster at around 1.30pm on Saturday.
Despite the efforts of medical personnel, he was pronounced dead at the scene and his family have since been informed, South Yorkshire Police said.
According to local media, eyewitnesses said a black screen has been erected around the tiger enclosure while there were reports of “five shots fired” shortly before the evacuation.
These sounds were believed to be gas canister and tranquilliser darts, The Star newspaper added.South Yorkshire Police said: “At 1.35pm today Saturday, October 10 we received reports of a man entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
“The tiger subsequently attacked the man, resulting in serious injury.
“Emergency services attended and sadly, despite the best efforts of medical personnel, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
“The man’s family is aware and is being supported by specialist officers. Our thoughts are with them at this distressing time.
“Regarding rumours surrounding the condition of the tiger, the animal was uninjured and remained in the enclosure following the incident and there is no wider risk to the public.
“Following the incident, Yorkshire Wildlife Park was evacuated and officers remain on scene carrying out inquiries. We are aware of videos circulating online and we would encourage people not to share this footage.”
The man died at the scene, South Yorkshire Police said Credit: Alamy/PA
Karmelle Pelham, 39, of Worksop, had been at the park celebrating her nephew’s second birthday with family.
She told ITV News: “We had been in the tiger enclosure minutes before but luckily moved on and we heard what sounded like two gun shots.
“Shortly after that a helicopter started circling and there was another couple of gunshots.
“We were in the lemur enclosure and asked to leave as the keepers said they couldn’t keep us safe if we were there.
“As we were leaving, things seemed a bit more tense and the keepers were starting to ask people to move on and make their way to the exit and the park would be closing.
“As we made our way out through the park, there was police presence and keepers making sure people swiftly made their way out.
“The tiger enclosed had black tarpaulin covering the entrance and two police officers were inside.
“As we left there was a huge team of detectives on their way over to the enclosure.
“A lady in front of my Auntie was heard saying to a keeper that she has been there on the scene and witnessed the man jumping into the tiger’s enclosure and asked if they would like a statement.
“Before we left, we stood and watched the air ambulance leave without any casualties, and so we assumed everything was fine.
“[I’m] very sad to hear what happened and so glad the animal was unharmed.
“The staff were extremely professional and didn’t create panic or give us any reason to worry at all. It was handled very well.”
Visitors can view the tigers from a raised walkway. Credit: Yorkshire Wildlife Park
Yorkshire Wildlife Park bosses said: “We can confirm that a serious incident has occurred today at the tiger enclosure.
“Our emergency response procedures were immediately activated, and emergency services are currently attending the scene.
“We are working closely with the authorities to ascertain exactly what happened.
“The safety and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and animals remain our highest priority.
“The park is now closed and will remain closed tomorrow.”
Yorkshire Air Ambulance said: “We can confirm that Yorkshire Air Ambulance was dispatched to an incident at Yorkshire Wildlife Park today (Saturday 10 October), alongside other ambulance resources.
“At this stage, we are unable to provide any further details.”
The park was officially opened in April 2009.
In 2011, Land of the Tigers opened which allows visitors to view the cats from a 300 meter-long raised walkway above the enclosure.
The two-acre complex is home to two Amur tigers – Altai and Tschuna. More commonly known as Siberian Tigers, they are the largest big cats in the world.