A 21-year-old man in Delhi was rescued on Thursday, moments after he jumped inside a lion enclosure at the National Zoological Park, PTI reported. Officials swiftly tranquilised the animal to save Rehan Khan, who was found in an inebriated state.

Video footage of the episode, shared widely on social media, showed Khan sitting in front of a lion. He lay down before the animal after a while.

The police said Khan was “mentally disturbed” and did not suffer any injuries. “The man belongs to Seelampur in Northeast Delhi and is mentally disturbed,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Chinmoy Biswal told Hindustan Times. “We have sent him to a hospital for medical examination.”

The zoo’s Public Relations Officer Riyaz Ahmed Khan said guards had tried to stop the 21-year-old from entering the enclosure. “He kept saying, ‘I have come to die, don’t rescue me’,” the zoo official told ANI. “We all rushed to the spot, gave him a ladder but he did not listen. Then we tranquilised the lion and rescued him.”

On September 5, a man had allegedly tried to commit suicide by trying to get inside the enclosure of an Indian lion at the Delhi zoo. He was also rescued before he could get injured.

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