Lion killed at Belgium's Planckendael zoo after escaping from enclosure

'After two failed anaesthetic attempts, we had to let the escaped lion sleep'

A lioness at Planckendael zoo in Belgium. It is not yet known whether this is the animal which was killed (ERIC LALMAND/AFP/Getty Images)

A lion has been killed after it escaped its enclosure at a zoo in Belgium.

Planckendael zoo was evacuated after the female lion got out just after opening time, a spokeswoman said.

The lioness did not get out of the zoo and no visitors were in danger, Ilse Segers said.

Ms Segers said: ”The zoo has been evacuated and closed. A veterinarian is currently trying to sedate the lion.”

However, the zoo later said after two unsuccessful attempts to sedate the lion, the animal was put down.

“After two failed anaesthetic attempts, we had to let the escaped lion sleep,” the zoo said in Dutch on Twitter.

No visitor or staff member was in danger at any time, it added.

Planckendael zoo is located 19 miles north of the Belgian capital, Brussels.