A world-renowned circus animal tamer has been mauled to death by four of his own tigers.
Ettore Weber was killed about 7:30 pm last night at the Circo Orfei, Italy's best-known circus, while rehearsing for his upcoming show.
The 61-year-old was reportedly practicing when one of his tigers knocked him down and the other three pounced and began savaging him.
The animals then "played" with his body for roughly 30 minutes in front of shocked medics, who were unable to help, as reported by La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno.
Weber's fellow circus performers attempted to drive the big cats away, but could not do so without endangering their own lives, according to Corriere.
Medics have revealed that Weber suffered serious injuries, including severe trauma to the spine. Police are believed to have launched an investigation to try to recreate the events leading up to the attack.
It is not known what will happen to the tigers now that their trainer is dead.
Weber was attacked one hour before Thursday’s show was due to take place. The circus arrived in Bari on Friday, June 15 and was due to stay until Sunday, July 14. However, it is now unclear whether they will complete their scheduled run.
The incident comes after a zookeeper was killed by a tiger in England in May 2017.
Rosa King, 33, died when a Malayan male called Cicip attacked her at Hamerton Zoo Park in Cambridgeshire.
An inquest heard this week that members of the public saw her being dragged across the enclosure before she was mauled to death.
Nicholas Moss, Cambridgeshire's assistant coroner, told the inquest that immediately after the attack, two gates and a metal vertical slide - designed to ensure staff and tigers were not in the paddock at the same time - were found to have been open.