Sumatran tiger mauls keeper to death at Polish zoo: police

Warsaw

A Sumatran tiger mauled its keeper to death Wednesday morning at a zoo in Poland's southwestern city of Wroclaw, local police said.

"The accident occurred at 8:00 o'clock local time. The employee was mortally wounded by the predator while he was cleaning its cage. The 58-year-old man died on the spot," Wroclaw police spokesman Kamil Rynkiewicz told AFP.

"It appears likely that human error is to blame," Wroclaw Zoo spokesman Radoslaw Ratajszczak said in a statement.

An investigation has been launched to determine whether the keeper, among the zoo's most experienced employees, had followed regulations on the job, Rynkiewicz said.