A group of bears killed a zoo keeper at a wildlife park in China, while visitors to a passing tour bus were in panic.
Warning: the following story contains an image that may be disturbing.
The Shanghai Wildlife Park confirmed that an employee was attacked on Saturday afternoon while working in the “wild area” where dangerous animals such as bears and tigers roam with relative freedom.
Visitors to the park in a tour bus in this part of the park saw the bears running towards the employee and filmed parts of the tragedy as it unfolded.
China’s state-owned Global Times reported that an excavator operating nearby headed towards the animals in an effort to move the bears and save the person, but it was too late.
The video has since been shared widely on the Chinese social network Weibo, and has been viewed more than 658,000 times in the past 18 hours.
The video sparked a lot of discussion about the park’s safety protocols and questioned how the bears were able to get close to the worker.
The park released a statement saying it was investigating the matter, and has since closed its Dangerous Wildlife Service.
“Our park is very sad about such a tragedy, and we express our deep condolences to the deceased, expressing their deep sympathy to the families of the deceased, and apologizing for the inconvenience caused to the tourists,” a statement by the park said.
“At present, our park is actively cooperating with relevant departments to conduct an investigation into the accident.”
Visitors who purchased tickets to the park after the event are eligible for a refund, according to state media reports.
