A lion has been shot dead in China after it escaped its enclosure and killed one of its keepers.

The incident, which took place on 17 May, at the Taian Tiger Mountain Park in Taian, Shandong, saw the lion’s 65-year-old keeper bitten on the shoulders and neck while cleaning the enclosure. The keeper later died from his injuries.

After biting the keeper, the lion was roaming free in the zoo for more than an hour before local police shot the animal dead. During the incident, zoo officials put up steel barriers at the park’s entrance while visitors were evacuated from the park.

The park in question is reportedly in a serious state of disrepair. News portal Iqilu.com posted pictures in 2014 of rusting cages, rotting food and stagnant drinking water for the animals. At the time, a park official said there would be a clean-up and necessary repairs would be made.

An investigation into the incident is underway, with the attack the second such death in China this year after a similar incident occurred with a keeper cleaning a tiger cage in Jiangxi province.