Tourists forced to flee tiger enclosure on foot after truck breaks down

• 10 tourists were visiting tiger enclosure at the Jiufeng National Forest Park
• 100ft into the big cat enclosure, the truck's engine stalled due to cold
• As terrified visitors phoned their families, big cats circled the vehicle 

By John Hutchinson for MailOnline

Published: 26 January 2016 

Horrified tourists at a popular zoo had to flee a tiger enclosure on foot after their sightseeing vehicle broke down mid-tour. Surrounded by half a dozen big cats, the visitors feared for their lives as they became stranded in the middle of the territory and were told they would need to leave the vehicle.

Reports said 10 tourists visiting the famous Siberian tiger enclosure at the Jiufeng National Forest Park near Beijing began phoning their friends and family after the safari car they were travelling in broke down.

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Tourists were given a major fright when their truck broke down in the Siberian tiger enclosure at the Jiufeng National Forest Park

The 10 visitors were then told they would have to escape the enclosure on foot, while tigers prowled

The group were about 100ft inside the big cat enclosure when the engine is said to have stalled because of sub-zero temperatures. With six adult tigers roaming around the enclosure, the disbelieving tourists were then told that the only way they could leave was on foot.

Pictures taken by one of the tourists show the big cats circling the broken down vehicle. The nervous tourists that refused to get out of the vehicle until the big cats were taken away then had to wait while gamekeepers spent the next 20 minutes driving the tigers into cages with other vehicles.

The people on the truck began phoning friends and family as the Siberian tigers circled the truck

The visitors then exited the vehicle and boarded another sightseeing car waiting for them at the entrance and which took the back to the tourist centre. The park has since apologised for the incident and offered the tourists a full refund of their tickets.

Last month MailOnline reported on the moment a tiger paced inches from tourists - who somehow managed to remain calm despite their truck appearing to have no doors. The alarming footage was shot during a safari at the Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary near Nagpur in India.

While the point of a wildlife trek is undoubtedly to get close to some of the spectacular animals of the bush, in this video, there are very obvious safety aspects that appear to have been neglected.

The scene begins with the tiger walking stealth-like towards the vehicle, and while the driver and front-seat passenger sections appear to be covered, there is no roof or doors for those seated at the back.

A man appears in shot, and while he remains calm as the big cat springs forward, his silence is perhaps only to be expected.

Although most of the tourists remain calm in the truck, there are clearly some nerves as the tigers approaches

Hushed silence in the truck continues as the big cat checks out what is interrupting its day

Another worry is that the driver appears to have moved out of his seat, meaning a quick exit should anything go wrong is less-than likely. The big cat lets out a couple of grunts before beginning an assault on the wing-mirror using its mouth and paws in an attempt to wrench it off.

After giving up on that attack, the tiger then paces past the truck, and this is where it becomes apparent that there is practically nothing separating the group of the people in the back from the ferocious beast.

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