NEW DELHI: A white tiger mauled to death a young man in a New Delhi zoo on Thursday, an official and a witness said.

Television channels broadcast closed-circuit footage of the frightened man, aged 20, inside the tiger's enclosure in the zoo that houses six white tigers, along with lions and panthers.

"We are all in a complete state of shock," said Amitabh Agnihotri, the director of the National Zoological Park in the Indian capital, adding that the body was being sent for a post-mortem examination.

"The tiger grabbed the youth and killed him. I am not clear whether the youth jumped into the cage or he slipped accidentally."

Authorities have yet to ascertain whether the young man was alone or accompanied by friends.

"The barricade was too low and it seems the tiger grabbed the youth into his cage and firmly latched on to the youth's neck," an eyewitness who alerted the police told an Indian news channel.

"We tried to throw sticks and stones at the tiger but we could not save the youth," he said, adding that the tiger killed him in less than 10 minutes.

SOURCE: APP