Georgia: Tiger escaped from Tbilisi zoo kills man

A tiger that escaped from a Tbilisi zoo after floods swept through the Georgian capital has killed a man, it has been reported.

The animal attacked the man in the Laguna Vere area, not far from the zoo, local media reported.

The Rustavi 2 television said the big cat jumped on his victim and mauled him to death as he entered a warehouse where it was hiding. Early reports erroneously identified the animal as a lion.

Security forces were called at the scene and killed the tiger, the Interior Ministry of the ex-Soviet republic said later. Another man was wounded.

Enclosures at Tbilisi zoo were flooded after a river broke its banks, with numerous animals, including a hippopotamus, an alligator, a bear and wolves escaping to roam the streets of the city.

Many were subsequently recaptured or shot dead by authorities. Earlier this week the zoo claimed that all missing lions and tigers had been found dead and only one jaguar remained on the loose.

Michael Birnbaum, the Moscow bureau chief for the Washington Post tweeted:

Scores of homes were destroyed, and 16 people were killed in the floods caused by heavy rains over the weekend.