IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Zoo worker dies after tiger attack

A British zoo worker who was injured in a tiger attack at an animal park near Dalton-in-Furness has died, police said Friday.

Sarah McClay, 24, from the Barrow area, was attacked by a tiger within its enclosure Friday afternoon, Cumbria police said. The woman was taken by air ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital following the attack at the South Lakes Wild Animal Park, but she did not survive.

McClay had suffered head and neck injuries, the BBC reported.

Police are still investigating the circumstances that led to the attack.

"Sarah's family are very shocked and distressed and request that they have privacy as they try to come to terms with their loss," the police statement read.

The public was not at risk during the attack, officials said. The wildlife park, which, according to the BBC, opened in 1994 and has both Siberian and Sumatran tigers, closed early Friday.