Belfast, Ireland - In a shocking incident earlier this month, an employee was locked in the lion enclosure at a zoo in Belfast by his colleague. Now, authorities are searching for answers.

Following the life-threatening encounter, Belfast City Council has now launched an investigation, as reported by the Belfast Telegraph on Thursday.

While the city was horrified, they could not yet provide any further details about what happened, an anonymous source told the outlet.

According to the insider, two animal keepers had initially gone into the enclosure last week to do their work, but the big cats had been locked up in a shelter.

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One of the employees then left his colleague in the lion's den and locked the door – and the animals were then able to move freely again.

As a result, the man was alone among the carnivores in the lion enclosure and had nowhere to flee to.

Somehow, though, the man thankfully managed to survive the terrifying ordeal.

The incident is now being investigated to determine whether there was malicious intent behind the act as well as how long the zoo employee had to remain in the lion enclosure.