A tiger that escaped from a flooded zoo in Georgia has killed one man and wounded another. The Tbilisi zoo had previously said all lions and tigers that went missing after the flooding had been found dead and only one jaguar remained unaccounted for.

The Interior Ministry says police killed the big cat, which was hiding in an abandoned factory when he attacked the men.

Many zoo animals – among them tigers, lions, bears, wolves and crocodiles – escaped from the Georgian zoo and onto the streets of the capital Tbilisi. Rescuers herded a hippo back to the zoo and recovered a crocodile completely buried in mud.

Tbilisi zoo flood tiger
A white tiger that killed a man after it had escaped from its enclosure during flooding lies on a stretcher after it was shot by police in Tbilisi, Georgia David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters
Tbilisi zoo flood lion
A municipal worker stands near dead animals at a flooded zoo in the Georgian capital Vano Shlamov/AFP
Tbilisi zoo flood tiger
An excavator is used to remove a dead bear from the zoo in Tbilisi David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters
Tbilisi zoo flood lion
Rescue workers drag a dead tiger through the mud at the flooded zoo in Tbilisi David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters
Tbilisi zoo flood lion
A dead bear lies in mud at the flooded zoo in Tbilisi David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters
Tbilisi zoo flood lion
A hippopotamus that escaped from a zoo walks along a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia Beso Gulashvili/AFP
Tbilisi zoo flood lion
Residents herd a hippopotamus along a flooded street back towards the zoo in Tbilisi Beso Gulashvili/AFP

Three zoo workers died in the floods, including a woman who was trying to save lions and tigers. Several weeks ago she had lost her arm when a tiger attacked her, according to the reports.

Georgia observed a day of mourning for flood victims on Monday 15 June as rescue workers, soldiers and volunteers continued to search for missing people and clear rubble and mud from affected areas.

Tbilisi zoo flood lion
An excavator works near buildings damaged by the flood in Tbilisi David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters
Tbilisi zoo flood lion
Volunteers clean debris around a buried emergency vehicle in Tbilisi David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters
Tbilisi zoo flood lion
Rescuers work among debris on a flooded street in Tbilisi Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters
Tbilisi zoo flood lion
Men collect debris at a flooded zoo in the Georgian capital Vano Shlamov/AFP
Tbilisi zoo flood lion
Cars are seen partly submerged in debris on a flooded street in Tbilisi Beso Gulashvili/Reuters

Heavy rains turned the Vere river that flows through Tbilisi into a torrent that washed away buildings, roads and cars. At least 12 people were killed and 24 reported missing.

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