London Zoo: Gorilla escaped from enclosure and prowled for 3 hours before being captured

A gorilla which escaped from its enclosure at London Zoo has been recaptured. According to the Metropolitan Police staff subdued the animal with a tranquilliser dart. No-one was harmed in the incident.

Earlier London Zoo confirmed that a silverback gorilla escaped from an enclosure. Some members of the public were locked in the gift shop and restaurant for their own safety and video circulating on social media show armed police searching the area. The Met's Air Support Unit was also involved, using a heat-seeking camera to try and locate the beast. However the zoo says members of the public were not at risk during the incident.

Eyewitness Brad Evans told BBC Radio London: "We were having a cup of coffee in the main restaurant area when they locked us all in and said there was an incident. They gave us free teas and coffees and obviously we were asking what was going on and they told us that a gorilla had got out of its enclosure. As we were waiting we saw the police turning up in numbers with loads of guns."

It is not known which of the zoo's seven gorillas escaped. Most media reports said one threw itself against glass in order to escape. There was relief on social media that the animal was captured without being shot, with some comparing the incident to one in which Harambe the gorilla was shot dead at Cincinnati Zoo when a little boy fell in its enclosure.