Woman hospitalised after tiger attack at theme park in Australia

Sydney, Sep 2 : A woman has been hospitalised after being mauled by a tiger at a theme park in the Australian state of Queensland on Monday.

A spokesperson for the Queensland Ambulance Service said that paramedics were called to Dreamworld at 9 a.m. local time on Monday following an incident involving a tiger.

They said that an animal handler aged in her 30s suffered several deep cuts and scratches to her arm and was taken to a nearby hospital in a stable condition.

Located 50 km south of the state capital of Brisbane, Dreamworld is Australia's biggest theme park.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that it is home to nine Sumatran and Bengal tigers.

A spokesperson for Dreamworld confirmed that the victim was trained in handling tigers.

"Dreamworld's immediate focus is on the support of the team member," they said. "This was an isolated and rare incident, and we will conduct a thorough review accordingly."

Four people died at Dreamworld in October 2016 when a water ride malfunctioned. The operator of the park was in 2020 fined 3.6 million Australian dollars ($2.4 million) after pleading guilty to safety charges over the deaths.