A senior keeper was crushed to death at London Zoo on 20 October. The zoo was closed the following day as a mark of respect.

The keeper, Jim Robson, 40, had worked at the zoo for 26 years, 16 of them with elephants. A spokesperson at London Zoo said it was believed that Jim Robson tripped and fell and was stepped on by one of the Asian elephants in his care; he died later in hospital.

The zoo has begun an internal inquiry into the accident. Jim Robson is the third zookeeper in Britain to have been killed by elephants in the past two years.