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‘A miracle’: Zookeeper lucky to be alive after lion attack near Hanover

A young zookeeper is expected to make a full recovery after being mauled by two lions at the Serengeti Zoo, near Hanover, over the weekend. Reports indicate the man entered the enclosure at feeding time.

Published: 6 May 2019 11:28 CEST
'A miracle': Zookeeper lucky to be alive after lion attack near Hanover
Lions at the Serengeti Park. Photo: DPA

The lions had been released from their cages to feed on meat which had been left for them in the centre of a large enclosure. 

The boss of the zoo told reporters “it’s a miracle that our young colleague is still alive”. 

His colleagues told DPA they were unsure why the 24-year-old man entered the enclosure, although they speculated it could have been to perform a routine fence check. 

The enclosure where the attack took place. Image: DPA

Once they noticed the man, the two male lions pounced, attacking him on his arm, leg and chest. Zookeepers were able to fight off the lions in order to save the man. He was later flown in an emergency helicopter to a nearby hospital. 

DPA reports the man is in a stable condition after undergoing a five-hour operation.  

A spokesperson for the zoo later told AFP that the man forgot the ‘golden rule’ of checking to see if the lions were in their cages before entering the enclosure. 

Read: False alarm after five big cats break out of zoo

The park, based in Hodengahen in Lower Saxony, has more than 1,500 animals spread across 296 acres of land. 

The lions of the park have previously made news, after a lioness attacked a safari bus full of visitors. A family suffered light injuries in the attack. 

The man is expected to make a full recovery.

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WEATHER

IN PICTURES: French town hit by freak June hailstorm

A French town has been hit by a freak hailstorm that left locals clearing drifts of ice in the streets with shovels and snow ploughs.

Published: 29 June 2021 16:44 CEST
IN PICTURES: French town hit by freak June hailstorm
Photo: Sapeurs-pompiers des Vosges

The hail struck the town of Plombières-les-Bains in the Vosges mountains on Tuesday morning.

Romain Munier, head of communications for the local emergency services, told French media: “There were up to 60 centimetres of accumulated hail” while in the wider area, “up to 10 millimetres of water accumulated in six minutes”.

https://twitter.com/timbaland57/status/1409881345741012994

Locals were pictured clearing the street of ice with shovels and snow ploughs after the storm passed and the fire and rescue crews for the Vosges area said they had received 56 callouts in total.

Large areas of France are on weather alert for storms until Thursday, as a ‘cold drop’ passes over the country leading to extremely unsettled weather.

In most areas, however, the storms will be confined to heavy rain and thunder.

In neighbouring Switzerland, the Swiss news agency ATS reported giant hailstones up to seven centimetres wide in the canton of Lucerne.

In the canton of Fribourg, the police and fire brigade were called 300 times, including to rescue a class of 16 children and two adults caught in the hail.

Six of the children and one adult were taken to hospital.

At least five people were injured in the German-speaking Swiss cantons, including a cyclist who suffered head injuries from hailstones, according to ATS, whilst in Germany severe flooding has hit parts of the country including Stuttgart.

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