A rhino has killed a zookeeper and seriously injured her colleague, police in Austria have said.
The attack happened at Hellbrunn Zoo in the western city of Salzburg at around 7am.
The 33-year-old zookeeper was attacked by the animal “for reasons that are still unknown” during routine work in the rhino enclosure, Salzburg police said in a statement.
“The woman succumbed to her injuries at the scene of the accident,” a police spokesperson added.
Her 34-year-old colleague was attacked by the rhino as he tried to scare it away.
He was flown by helicopter to a hospital for treatment, Salzburg24 reported. His condition is not life-threatening.
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The rhino believed to have attacked the staff is a 30-year-old female called Yeti, according to the news website, and has lived at the zoo since 2009.
The zookeeper who suffered fatal injuries to her chest was German, from the state of Bavaria, and was described as very experienced.
“She was very careful and thoughtful with the animals and she had an extremely good feel for animals,” the zoo’s director, Sabine Grebner, told a news conference.
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The incident happened during the morning rounds in which the animals are fed and treated with insect repellent, she said.
“We do not know exactly how it happened,” she said.
All the rhinos at the zoo have been there a long time and are cooperative with their keepers, she added.
The incident is being investigated, and a message on the zoo’s website and Facebook page said it would remain closed on Tuesday.
