A teenage zookeeper at one of Europe's largest wildlife parks has died after being attacked by a bear.

The 19-year-old was cleaning an enclosure at the Orsa Rovdjurspark in Sweden when he was mauled by a brown bear that had dug its way under a fence.

He was taken by helicopter to hospital, where he later died from bite wounds.

Four visitors were inside the enclosure at the time to see what it was like to work as an animal keeper - and although they witnessed the attack, they were unharmed.

Sven Brunberg, a spokesman for the wildlife park, said the two-year-old bear was euthanised after the attack.


Orsa Rovdjurspark, which is based about 205 miles north of Stockholm, has predators including different species of bears, leopards, wolves and lynxes.

A post on the park's Facebook page said the attraction was closed immediately after Friday's incident, but it would reopen on Saturday.

In 2012, a female employee at a wildlife park south of Stockholm was killed by a pack of wolves she had helped to raise.

Kolmarden Wildlife Park was later fined four million kronor (£376,000) for negligence, and a former manager at the park was found guilty of manslaughter by breaching Swedish workplace safety laws.