SHANXI: Nightmare at China circus after tiger escapes from cage

• Two children hospitalised with minor scratches after tiger attacks them.

It was a nightmare for viewers at a circus in China after a tiger escaped from its cage. The shocking footage from the incident shows the tiger leaving its enclosure and trying to attack people at the venue. Though no serious injuries were reported, two children narrowly escaped with minor injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital.

Several viewers recorded the incident of panic and chaos on their mobile phones and shared videos on social media. According to NDTV reports, the incident took place in Linfen, China's Shanxi province on November 25 after the tiger escaped from its cage during an act leaving the crowd watching the circus in shock. The incident is currently under investigation.As the video of the big cat attacking people at the circus was circulated on internet, several have expressed their objection to keep a tiger in captivation and urged that such act of animal cruelty be banned.

A Twitter used wrote: It's too bad and I wish the children had not been injured. A tiger should neither be kept in a small cage nor be in a circus under any circumstance. Of course the tiger needed to escape to maintain his/her sanity. Caging a tiger is horrifying."

While another tweeted: "Maybe now people will realise that wild animals shouldn't be in a damn cage."

The incident was reported only days after a man lost his fingers while trying to feed banknotes to a tiger.