A 37-YEAR-OLD woman has been mauled to death after being attacked by a Bengal tiger in a zoo in Benidorm, Spain.

    The tragedy happened at about 5 p.m. Saturday when the victim, understood to be a worker at the Terra Natura de Benidorm nature park, was inside the animal’s cage.

    The pioneering 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 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 recreated.

    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 arrival the woman was already dead.

    The animal was anaesthetized so her body could be recovered.

    It is understood the victim had been in the same enclosure as the tiger when it 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.

    As yet, there has been no statement from the zoo. An investigation is already under way.

    Just two months ago, there was tragedy at another safari park in Alicante when a worker fixing a fence was attacked and killed by a buffalo.(SD-Agencies)