Runaway tiger kills man in Tbilisi after flood damages zoo

(Agencies/chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2015-06-18 10:37

A white tiger, that had escaped from its enclosure during flooding, lies on the stretchers after it was killed by police in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 17, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

TBILISI, Georgia - A tiger that broke loose after severe flooding at the Tbilisi Zoo mauled a man to death in the Georgian capital before being shot by police Wednesday, a day after officials said all the zoo's tigers had died.

Zoo Director Zurab Gurielidze acknowledged he was to blame for releasing faulty information and said new counts indicated a tiger cub and a hyena could still be on the loose. The city has remained on edge, with runaway predators reportedly seen by some residents.

The Interior Ministry in the former Soviet republic said the tiger was hiding at an abandoned factory that had been turned into a construction market when he attacked the man Wednesday. The victim, who worked at the market, later died of his wounds at a hospital.

"We entered the depot and, suddenly, a white tiger rushed out of an adjacent room and attacked one of the workers, jumping at his throat and mauling him," colleague Alexander Shavbulashvili told The Associated Press. "We broke the window of another room to flee, and the sound of breaking glass must have scared it and it ran away."

Police commandos rushed to the site and killed the tiger.

"It was a white tiger," Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri told the AP. "We wanted to sedate it, but it was very aggressive and we had to liquidate it."

Zoo spokeswoman Khatia Basilashvili couldn't immediately offer any details about the dead tiger. The zoo administration had said Tuesday that eight lions, all its seven tigers and at least two of its three jaguars and 12 of its 14 bears were killed in the flooding.