Zoo animals on the loose and deaths feared after Georgia floods (Photo+video)

Tigers, lions, wolves and bears are feared to be on the loose in Georgia’s capital amid chaotic scenes brought by devastating floods that have reportedly killed eight people.

Korupciya.world reports citing The gaurdians

Images of an escaped hippopotamus being cornered in one of Tbilisi’s main squares after escaping from the city’s zoo have emerged, while other animals have been killed or remain at large.

Heavy rainfall turned the Vere river flowing through the capital of the former Soviet republic into a torrent that swept away dozens of buildings and cars. At least eight people have been killed, according to news agencies, while others are missing. Three employees of the zoo are thought to be among the fatalities.

“The damage is substantial,” the prime minister, Irakli Garibashvili, told reporters. He also called on residents to stay home as the search for the animals continued.

Images on Tbilisi City Hall’s Facebook page showed roads submerged by floodwater, landslides and vehicles washed away, while rescue workers carried people on their shoulders through waist-high water.