Two lions attacked a woman worker at an Australian zoo on Friday as she was cleaning their enclosure, inflicting critical wounds on her head and neck, officials said.
Paramedics treated the 35-year-old at the Shoalhaven Zoo, in New South Wales (NSW) state, which has been closed since March 25 because of shutdowns to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
She was then airlifted to hospital in a critical but stable condition, police said in a statement.
NSW Ambulance duty operations manager inspector Faye Stockmen said she had to walk into the lions' den to reach the zookeeper in an "incredibly dangerous situation, both for the patient and the paramedics".
"I have never come across a job like this in my career," she said in a statement.
"It was absolutely harrowing."
Police declared a crime scene at the zoo. Shoalhaven Zoo declined to comment.
Attacks by wild animals at zoos are relatively common. Last year, a Sumatran tiger attacked a worker at a zoo in Kansas, in the United States, and in a separate incident, a Jaguar attacked a woman taking a selfie at a zoo in the U.S. state of Arizona.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Pregnant Chimp Adopts Orphan in 'Unheard Of' Act Rabbits, Doing What They Are Famous For, Overrun Australian Zoo The 'Fake' CrowdStrike Worker Who Crippled Windows Users Worldwide What Recovery Of Austrian Gun 'Steyr AUG' From J&K Terrorists Means After Retest, Haryana NEET Centre With Most Top Scorers Gave This Result... Triptii And Vicky Only Give Good News In Matching Versace Printed Looks 'When Biharis Are Doing So Well, Why Is Bihar Behind,' Asks Union Minister Bangladesh Blocks Roads, Internet; Army Deployed To Curb Protests Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.