An employee of Lucknow's Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden died after being attacked by a hippopotamus on Monday. The victim, identified as Suraj, was attacked by the beast when he entered its enclosure for cleaning.
Following the tragic incident, the zoo remained closed to visitors on Monday, news agency PTI reported.
Suraj is an experienced worker who joined the zoo in 2013. Cleaning enclosures of various animals is a part of his routine responsibilities, the report added. He had been looking after the beast that attacked him for many years and thus can't be said that he was unaware of her behaviour, an official told the press.
It was around 10:45 AM that the adult hippo charged at the employee and attacked him. A critically injured Suraj was rushed to the Civil Hospital where he later breathed his last.
A senior official told PTI that a monetary help of Rs 50,000 has been extended to the late man's family by the zoo administration.
Meanwhile, media reports claimed that the same hippo had recently attacked another zoo employee who remains hospitalised to date.