Deadly Zoo Animals Roam Georgian Capital After Floods Kill 12 People

TBILISI, June 14 (Reuters) — Deadly zoo animals were prowling the streets of Tbilisi on Sunday after floods that killed at least 12 people damaged their cages, setting them free, local news agencies reported.? 




Tigers, lions, bears and wolves were among the more than 30 animals that escaped from the zoo in the Georgian capital overnight.? 





Reuters photographs showed a marksman shooting tranquilizer darts at a hippopotamus walking past shops on a mud-soaked street.? 





Residents were advised to stay indoors until the animals could be captured. Heavy rains turned the Vere river that flows through Tbilisi into a torrent that swept away dozens of buildings and cars. Authorities said the damage would amount to millions of dollars.? 





"Dozens of families remain homeless as their houses were destroyed or damaged in the capital," deputy mayor Irakly Lekvinadze told reporters.





Read the story: After Hippo, Lions, Wolves Stalk Flooded Tbilisi, Russia Offers to Assist

A man shoots a tranquilizer dart to put a hippopotamus to sleep at a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015.

A man directs a hippopotamus after it was shot with a tranquilizer dart at a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015.

Cars are seen among debris at a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015.

Members of fire team work on a fire-engine stacked among debris at a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015.

Rescuers work among debris at a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015.

Cars are seen among debris at a street hit by a flood in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015.

Rescuers work among debris at a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015.

A rescuer carries a child from a flooded house in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015.

Local residents and rescuers evacuate a woman with children at a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015.