Shanghai zoo fatal bear attack: Shanghai Wild Animal Park Visitors see workers being killed
A zookeeper has been killed by a group of bears at a wild animal park in China as horrified visitors on a passing tour bus watched on.
A Chinese animal park has promised to improve safety after one of its workers was fatally attacked by bears in front of a tourist bus.
The accident at the Shanghai Wildlife Park took place on Saturday in the zoo's "wild beast area".
Video reportedly of the incident, which was shared on social media, shows a group of tourists yelling as they watch the bears from inside a bus.
The park has expressed its condolences to the worker's family.
The Shanghai Wildlife Park confirmed that a staff member was attacked on Saturday afternoon while working in the "wild area" where dangerous animals such as bears and tigers roam around relatively freely.Park visitors on a tour bus in that section of the park saw the bears run towards the staff and filmed parts of the tragedy as it unfolded.
Chinese state-owned tabloid Global Times reported that an excavator working nearby drove towards the animals in an attempt to move the bears and save the person, but it was too late.
The video has since been widely shared on Chinese social media network Weibo, and watched more than 658,000 times within the last 18 hours.
The video has generated much discussion about the park's safety protocol and questioned how the bears were able to get close to the worker.
The park issued a statement saying that they are investigating the matter, and have since closed its dangerous wild animals section.
In a statement on its website, the Shanghai Wildlife Park said it was extremely distressed that such a tragedy occurred, adding that it also apologised to tourists for any inconvenience caused.The park says it is currently looking into the incident, would improve its safety management and do our best to handle the aftermath of the incident.It has since temporarily closed the wild beast area, refunded tickets for visitors and strengthened its safety operations.The video, circulating on Chinas Weibo, shows tourists yelling as they sit inside a bus, while several bears can be seen gathered outside, crowded in one spot.
The park released a statement saying they are investigating the matter, and have since closed their dangerous wild animal section.
"Our park is extremely saddened by such a tragedy, expressing deep condolences to the deceased, expressing deep sympathy to the families of the deceased and apologising for the inconvenience it caused to tourists," a statement by the park said.
"At present, our park is actively cooperating with relevant departments to conduct an incident investigation."
Visitors who have purchased tickets for the park following the event are eligible for a refund, state media reports.
The area is only accessible to visitors by bus, with footage on social media site Weibo showing how animals are allowed to roam freely.
In the video, a man can be heard exclaiming "there's someone [there]", while someone else is heard asking "what's going on?".
The video quickly went viral and stirred debate about the existence of zoos.
Some argued that the bears were only acting as any wild animal would, proposing the only solution to eradicate such accidents was to "just close zoos... let animals be free".
Others condemned the zoo's lack of safety measures, and expressed sympathy for the tourists that witnessed the accident, saying they would be "deeply traumatised".
It is rare for zoo workers in China to be mauled to death by animals, but attacks are not entirely uncommon - although in most of these cases, these accidents are allegedly brought on by the visitors themselves.
In 2017, a man was bitten by a bear in a drive-through wildlife park in China after he ignored park warnings and rolled down his window to feed the bear.
Footage supplied to MailOnline purports to show the accident. The 56-second clip, shot from a tourist bus, shows around eight bears gathering in a pond at a distance, seemingly engaging in an activity together.
MailOnline cannot independently verify the video.
A separate video circulating among Chinese media shows terrified tourists inside a bus fearing for the worst as they yelled 'what are they (the bears) doing' and 'there seems to be a man'.
Shanghai Wild Animal Park said it had set up a special team to investigate the matter. It vowed to strengthen its safety management.
The park said that it was heartbroken over the death of the worker and had expressed condolences to the victim's family.
It also apologised to the public for the inconvenience the accident brought.
Occupying 374 acres, Shanghai Wild Animal Park keeps more than 100,000 animals belonging to more than 200 species, according to its website.
It consists of a walking area where visitors observe various species on foot and a bus-riding section where tourists enjoy close contact with wild animals while on board of a vehicle.
