Chaos erupts as tiger leaps into crowd after circus barrier collapses

Chaos erupted at a circus in Russia after a tiger leapt into a screaming crowd after a barrier collapsed.

Footage circulated on social media on Sunday (19 April) of the incident in Rostov-on-Don, showing a barrier drop while three tigers were onstage.

One of the animals leapt over the lowered barrier and into the crowd, who were heard gasping and screaming.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Rostov Region wrote on VK, a Russian social media platform, that a criminal case has been opened following the incident.

No one was injured, and the tiger was immediately removed by specialists and returned to its enclosure, the statement said.