Posted by Amarachi on Tue 10th Aug, 2021 - tori.ng
Catalina, who had been working at the enclosure for over two years, was reportedly sent to perform cleaning duties but was attacked in the process.
Catalina Torres Ibarra
A young female zookeeper was killed by a tiger in a safari park enclosure after her colleagues failed to warn her that the cage door was open.
Catalina Torres Ibarra, 21, was killed in the park in Chile, South America on Friday, August 6.
Catalina, who had been working at the enclosure for over two years, was reportedly sent to perform cleaning duties but was attacked in the process. She died "on the spot" after suffering neck wounds in the fatal attack in Rancagua.
Her colleague Leonardo Maluenda, claims she was not told the tiger's cage door was open.
Leonardo told the press: "The most logical thing is that they tell you to be careful if you go to clean up there because the tiger is loose, but they did not warn her."
Colleagues are now playing the blame game as an internal investigation into the incident begins.
The park's finance manager, Antonio Rojas, claimed that a group of workers had deliberately unlocked the tigers' cage against protocol.
However, the workers in question have vehemently denied the allegations, saying that the cage was already open and that they did not open it themselves.
The safari park continues to remain closed as police investigate claims of possible negligence.