Plantation worker killed by tiger

An Indonesian man has been mauled to death by a rare Sumatran tiger, a hospital official said.

Amir, a morgue officer at Jambi's Public Hospital, said the body of a 52-year-old plantation worker called Ketani was found in southern Sumatra.

He said the victim's fellow workers told him that Ketani had spotted the tiger near their lodgings on the plantation. He shouted at the others to flee but, as he was running, he fell and was attacked by the animal.

Indonesia is home to some 400 Sumatran tigers, which are on the brink of extinction because of rapid deforestation, poaching and clashes with people.

The World Wildlife Fund says their numbers have dwindled to about 400, down from about 1,000 in the 1970s.