An escaped tiger believed to be owned by Germany’s “Tiger Queen” has been shot dead by police after attacking one of its keepers.

Police told the BBC a 72-year-old man was seriously injured after being attacked on Sunday while he was inside the animal’s enclosure, located in a privately-owned facility on the outskirts of the German city of Leipzig.

The tiger escaped the enclosure and was found shortly after by armed police, who shot and killed the animal.

The site of the enclosure is believed to be owned by controversial trainer and private owner Carmen Zander, who describes herself as Germany’s “Tiger Queen”.

The animal was one of eight big cats kept at the industrial site near the German town of Schkeuditz, according to local media.

In a statement to the BBC, police said officers shot the animal, a male tiger, to eliminate any further risk to the public.

It added that the local police department received the emergency call at around 12:50 local time (11:50 BST) on Sunday, with officers arriving at the scene quickly.

A spokesperson said how the tiger escaped is part of an ongoing investigation.

No other animals have escaped from the site and police have planned a drone search to ensure it is fully secure.

District Mayor Thomas Druskat called for the other animals to be relocated and told local media it was “unthinkable” what could have happened if anyone else had been harmed.

Nearby residents told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) that the incident was “terrible and worrying”, with one claiming the animals were not kept in appropriate conditions.

Animal rights charity Peta called on the government to act, telling DPA that stricter rules needed to be put in place to protect privately-owned animals.

According to a website using Zander’s name and nickname, the trainer holds “unforgettable” and “one-of-a-kind” tiger petting events open to the public.

The website says visitors can pay to pet the “250kg powerhouses” at a site near Leipzig.

Another section of the website features the pictures of eight tigers – three which appear to have died in the last nine years. The tigers include 190kg Kiara, 20-year-old Aschanti, and two-year-old cub Imana.

Social media posts appearing to be from the trainer show several pictures of the tigers playing in the enclosures.

It also says the tigers are looked after and kept healthy in an animal-friendly environment.

The BBC has reached out to Zander for comment.

[BBC]

A rescue diver has died while searching for the bodies of a group of Italians who died in a scuba-diving accident in the Maldives.

Staff Sgt Mohamed Mahdhee was taken to hospital in critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries, a government spokesman told the BBC on Saturday.

Five Italians died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of around 50m (164ft) on Thursday. So far, the body of one of them is thought to have been recovered, in a cave at a depth of around 60m (197ft).

The incident is believed to be the worst single diving accident in the tiny Indian Ocean nation, a popular tourist destination because of its string of coral islands.

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu travelled to Vaavu Atoll on Saturday to observe the search operations.

“Eight rescue divers went into the water today. When they surfaced, they realised  Mahdhee didn’t come up,” Mohamed Hossain Shareef, a Maldivian government spokesman told the BBC.

The other divers immediately went into the water again and they found Mahdhee had blacked out.

The Maldives military has described the operation as very high risk, with unfavourable weather conditions.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani sent condolences: “These days of grief for Italy are compounded by the news that one of your brave soldiers… died while attempting to dive to reach the bodies of our fellow Italians.”

“This tragedy unites Italy and the Maldives in grief and respect for the victims,” he added.

Four of the Italian divers were part of a University of Genoa team, including professor of ecology Monica Montefalcone, her daughter and two researchers. The fifth was a boat operations manager and diving instructor.

The five entered the water at Vaavu Atoll on Thursday morning, local media said, and were reported missing when they failed to resurface later on.

Police said the weather was rough in the area, about 100km (62 miles) south of the capital, Male. A yellow warning was issued for passenger boats and fishermen.

Shareef said recreational scuba divers were only allowed to dive up to a depth of 30m and it was not clear why the Italians went into a cave that’s 60m under water.

Italy’s foreign ministry said earlier that another 20 Italian nationals aboard the Duke of York yacht, from which the five divers took off, were unharmed and receiving assistance from the Embassy of Italy in Colombo, Sri Lanka

[BBC]

At least eight people have been killed, and dozens injured, after a freight train crashed into a public bus in Thailand’s capital.

Flames engulfed the bus and nearby vehicles near an airport rail link station in the centre of Bangkok Saturday afternoon.

The city’s emergency services Erawan Medical Center confirmed the number of deaths, while Bangkok police chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit told AFP news agency at least 35 people were injured.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat said that all the bodies were found on the bus. It was not yet clear how many people were on board in total.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered an investigation into the crash, according to a statement from his office.

Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Bangkok, said the crash unfolded around 3:40pm local time (08:40 GMT), when the bus appeared to get stuck on an intersection with the rail line after the safety barriers descended.

As the freight train rammed into the stationary bus and continued travelling, it dragged several nearby vehicles along with it before the bus burst into flames.

Siripong would not confirm whether the bus had stopped on the railway track or discuss reports that the barriers may not have lowered properly, saying the matter still needs to be investigated.

Firefighters and rescue crews were dispatched to pull people from the wreckage and battle the flames as motorcyclists and passersby attempted to redirect traffic.

The fire has since been brought under control.

[Aljazeera]