Tiger kills five picnickers

2004-03-22 23:13

Kathmandu - Five picnickers south of Kathmandu were killed by a Royal Bengal tiger which is believed to have killed eight other people previously, a home ministry official said on Monday.

Another picnicker managed to save himself by climbing a tree and staying there for several hours, the official said.

"Five picnickers were killed on Sunday after being attacked by a man-eating tiger believed to have been on the prowl for humans in the Chitwan district for the past couple of months," the official said.

"The tiger suddenly sprang from nearby Someswar forest and attacked the picnickers, killing five of them on the spot," he said.

"Even while I was up in the tree, the tiger waited for a couple of hours lying beneath the tree," a police report quoted the surviving picnicker, Rajendra Nyeupane, as saying.

The dead ranged in ages from 22 to 40.

The official said the same tiger is believed to have killed eight other people in the area over the past 10 weeks.

Forestry wardens are searching for the tiger in the area but no sightings have been reported.

- SAPA