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 A 37-year-old caretaker has been mauled to death by a Bengal tiger in a zoo in Benidorm. 
 
 The tragedy happened at about 5pm today when the female victim was inside the animal's cage at Terra Natura zoo. 
 
 Local reports have suggested the woman may have left a door open in an "oversight" as she carried out her tasks. 
 
 The emergency services, including the Red Cross and medics, were called out following reports to the police that a worker had been attacked by a tiger. 
 
 However, on their arrival, they could see that the woman was already dead. 
 
 The animal was anaesthetised so her body could be recovered. 
 
 It is understood the victim had been in the same enclosure as the tiger when attacked and it had not escaped. 
 
 The park was open at the time but sources say the cage was not in the public's view and was away from the main area so no visitor witnessed the attack. 
 
 The woman lived in Benidorm but further details have not been released about her identity or her age. 
 
 A spokesperson for the zoo said an investigation into the circumstances of the death is underway but is thought the woman came into direct contact with the tiger while cleaning the sanctuaries. 
 
 Staff are said to be "appalled and deeply affected" by the tragic news. 
 
 Terra Natura describes itself as a "new generation immersion park" where visitors, including thousands of Brits, can see wildlife in their enclosures through glass barriers. 
 
 It therefore makes people feel as though they are actually in the same area as the animals whom they can watch and be "at one" with them. 
 
 There are more than 1,500 animals of 200 different species with their natural habitat and vegetation authentically recreated. 
 
 The zoo spokesperson said: "The entire staff of the park is appalled and deeply affected by the tragic news. 
 
 "The accident occurred this afternoon about 17.00 p.m. in the shelter inside of the Asian Tigers, area where only has access the authorised personnel of the complex and that is not in view of the visitors. 
 
 "For reasons that are investigating, the caretaker has come into direct contact with the animal while cleaning jobs in the inner sanctuaries. 
 
 "Unfortunately, the paramedics have witnessed the death of the caregiver, who had been working for the park from eight years ago as a caretaker in cats and other species." 
 
 The latest tragedy comes after a zoo was fined nearly half a million pounds after one of its employees was killed by a Sumatran tiger. 
 
 Sarah McClay, 24, was pounced on in the keepers' corridor of the tiger house at South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton-in-Furness, Cumbria, on May 24, 2013. 
 
 An earlier inquest into Sarah's death heard how defective bolts allowed male tiger Padang to "tear through" a gate and enter the keepers' corridor. ||||| This article is over 2 years old 
 
 Animal euthanised after woman’s body found inside its enclosure at Spanish zoo 
 
 A tiger has attacked and killed a zookeeper in its cage at a Spanish animal park. 
 
 
 
 The discovery of the female keeper’s body was made at around 5pm at the Terra Natura park in the south-eastern coastal resort town of Benidorm. 
 
 Fatal mauling of 'tiger whisperer' prompts investigation at Florida zoo Read more 
 
 “The tiger was still in the cage with the 37-year-old keeper,” a Red Cross spokesman said. 
 
 Zoo staff euthanised the tiger with sedative darts so that emergency workers could enter the enclosure. They pronounced the woman dead. 
 
 Reports said the park was open at the time but that the attack was not witnessed by visitors. 
 
 Police were investigating. 
 
 The Terra Natura in Benidorm, which is in Spain’s Alicante province, promotes itself on its website as “a new generation” animal park, with a habitat area created for each of 200 species of animals. 
 
 Its website describes the park as an “immersion zoo”, with more than 1,500 animals.
– A 37-year-old female zookeeper at a so-called "immersion zoo" in Spain was killed by a tiger, reports the AFP. The attack wasn't witnessed, but her body was discovered about 5pm Saturday at Terra Natura animal park. "The tiger was still in the cage with the 37-year-old keeper," says a Red Cross rep. The animal was sedated with darts so that rescuers could enter, but the unnamed keeper was pronounced dead at the scene. "The entire staff of the park is appalled and deeply affected by the tragic news," a zoo rep says, via the Mirror. It's possible that the woman, a veteran employee of eight years, left a gate open as she went about her duties, per local reports. Terra Natura touts itself as a "new generation immersion park," which separates animals from tourists only with a glass barrier so that, as the Mirror puts it, visitors "can watch and be 'at one' with" the animals.