The man took selfie with the animal before it killed him
A man in China has lost his life after he was killed by a walrus while taking a selfie. The man was playfully dragged into the water and drowned, according to eyewitnesses.
The dead man was a business man named Jia Lijun who had visited the park alone and had been taking videos and pictures to put on his social media account when the walrus, which reportedly weighed nearly 1.5 tonnes, grabbed him from behind.
According to the report, Jia’s family learned the tragic news on the evening of May 11.
The incident occurred earlier this month at Xixiakou Wildlife Park in Rongcheng city in the north-east of the country, reports the People’s Daily Online.
Giving more details about the matter, a friend of Jia, surnamed Wu, said the man was very excited about meeting the walrus and had sent many photos and videos to friends.
Wu was a recipient of the videos.
He told local reporters: ‘Who would have thought that at three o’clock he would send me a video, talking and laughing and just a few minutes he was drowning in the water.’
Wu learnt from an eyewitness that the attack came when Jia was posing for a selfie.
Wu added: ‘His back was to the walrus, and he took a selfie, the walrus came from behind and pulled him into the pool to play. He was killed by the walrus, he didn’t accidentally fall into the water.‘
However, there have been mixed reports since the incident. According to onlookers, the walrus clung to the man from behind and dragged him to the pool of water, submerging him and swinging him around.
The animal’s keeper surnamed Duan found some bamboo sticks to try and rescue the man however it didn’t go to plan.
He then decided to enter the pool.
It was at this moment that the animal released Jia and rushed towards Duan.
Duan has been described as a ‘strong swimmer’ by his colleagues but unfortunately the huge walrus held both men in a tight embrace and dragged them under the water.
By the time they were rescued, it was already too late.
The zoo has taken responsibility for the accident and has paid Jia’s family 900,000 yuan (£94,000) in compensation.
Ti
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