A tiger escaped from its enclosure and killed a female keeper at Cologne Zoo before being shot dead by staff, according to police.

The tiger managed to get from the enclosure to an adjacent storage building, where it attacked the 43-year-old keeper, German police spokesman Stefan Kirchner said

“It appears the gate wasn’t properly shut,” he said.

The zoo’s director then used a rifle to shoot the animal dead through the storage building’s skylight before it could make its way to the visitor areas, he added.

Visitors were not harmed during the incident, which occurred at around noon local time (1100 BST) on Saturday, and Mr Kirchner said it was unlikely that members of the public had witnessed the attack.