Boy mauled to death by lions in Free State
Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide after a 12 year-old boy was killed by lions at the Otavi Game Lodge near Parys in the Free State.
It is alleged that Nkalamelo Latha accompanied one of the farm workers to the enclosure when he was attacked.
Management claims the man, who has been working there for six months, took the key to the enclosure and gained entry.
Free State police spokesperson Livhuwani Hani says the worker managed to escape without being hurt.
"The boy was with one of the farm workers in Otavi farms and then they went into the lions' enclosure. The lions escaped from the feeding area and attacked the farm worker and the boy," she said.
The youngster was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries before they arrived.
Farm manager Ina Human said the lions did no exit the enclosure which they she said has high, electric fences.
"The police told me it was very negligent of the worker to take a child into a lion enclosure. No one is ever allowed in there," she said.