Watch: Minutes before being mauled at Delhi zoo, man seen pleading to white tiger
New Delhi: A new video surfaced on Wednesday showing a 200-kg white tiger mauling and killing Maqsood Khan, 20-year-old boy, after he accidentally fell into the animal's enclosure in the Delhi zoo on Tuesday.
The horrifying incident was witnessed and captured live on many cameras. The nail-biting video sent jitters among the viewers.
The video shows that perplexed by the situation the victim is seen making a frantic mercy plea before the tiger. But the stone-pelting act by onlookers and a guard troubled the big cat, named Vijay, standing a few inches away from the victim.
The animal jumped on the youth, held his neck and dragged him inside the enclosure.
Watch: Man pleading to the white tiger before being killed
A witness said he raced to the tiger enclosure at the New Delhi zoo after hearing screams, to see the boy locked in the tiger's jaws, "writhing badly in pain". "Around 1.30 pm, when we were in the reptiles area, we heard very loud screams," Himanshu, who only gave one name, told TV news channel.
"We saw some kids throwing in small sticks and stones inside the tiger enclosure." "Then we saw that a white tiger had caught a boy by his neck and he was writhing badly in pain. "He kept suffering for the next 10-15 minutes but nobody helped him."
Watch: White tiger kills youth inside Delhi zoo
Himanshu said the railing of the tiger enclosure was "very low" and speculated that the boy may have fallen inside.
"I called the police, the police came very quickly, but the guy couldn't be saved, he died."
However, Delhi zoo officials blamed the victim a day after the incident, saying Maqsood was stopped by guards twice before he jumped into the enclosure.
Zoo spokesperson, Riyaz Ahmed Khan said, “The man who jumped is responsible for this entire incident. He has been a mental patient for four years.”
Reportedly the spokesperson said, “The guards did not have any time to carry out their basic security protocol. It takes time to load a tranquilizer gun. The animal got disturbed by the crowd. The guards tried their best to control the crowd.”
A new guard was posted at the spot today.
White tigers are found in southern and eastern Asia, particularly India, and owe their appearance to a recessive gene. They are regarded as an endangered species.
Watch: White tiger kills youth inside Delhi zoo
