A rhino at a zoo in Austria attacked a married couple working as zookeepers Tuesday, killing the woman and seriously injuring the man, authorities said.
The fatal attack happened at the Hellbrunn zoo in the western Austrian city of Salzburg.
Zoo director, Sabine Grebner, told reporters later on Tuesday that the 33-year-old woman, a German citizen from Bavaria, was assigned that day to put an insect deterrent on the rhino.
It was then that 30-year-old female rhino, Jeti, attacked the keeper though it was not clear why, Austria91Ƶs APA news agency cited Grebner as saying.
Salzburg police said that 91Ƶthe woman succumbed to her injuries at the scene of the accident.91Ƶ
The other zoo keeper, a 34-year-old Austrian citizen, was also attacked and injured when he tried to chase the rhino away from his wife.
The woman suffered severe chest trauma because of the attack and died in the enclosure while her her husband had a fractured leg and was taken to the hospital, APA reported.
The names of the two zoo keepers were not given in line with Austrian privacy rules.
The zoo director said the fatally injured keeper was known to be 91Ƶvery careful and thoughtful with the animals, and she had an extremely good sense91Ƶ when dealing with them.
Grebner said the exact circumstances of how the accident occurred had yet to be determined.
91ƵWe don91Ƶt know what exactly happened,91Ƶ she said. 91ƵWe are deeply upset and shocked.91Ƶ
All safety regulations would get re-evaluated, she said, adding that there had been no previous incidents at the rhino enclosure which was set up nearly 30 years ago.
The zoo will remain closed on Tuesday.
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