Zookeeper mauled to death by bears in Chinese animal park

A zookeeper has been mauled to death by bears in a Chinese animal park - with the venue vowing to improve its safety measures.

In a statement on its website, the Shanghai Wildlife Park expressed "extreme distress" at the tragedy.

It said the keeper was carrying out duties on Saturday afternoon in the open-air "wild beast" area, where large animals can roam free for tourists in vehicles to watch.

The park said it is looking into the incident, will strengthen safety management and will do its best "to handle the aftermath".

It said it temporarily closed sections of the zoo, refunded visitor tickets, and apologised to tourists for inconvenience.

Video circulating online appears to show a group of bears gathered in one spot as frightened tourists on a bus look on.