Camel kills two friends in front of families at petting zoo in Obion, Tennessee, as they tried to help catch animal

TWO men who were killed by a camel at a petting zoo were friends and have been described as “great people”.

The men died on Thursday afternoon after the horror encounter unfolded at the Shirley Farms in Obion, Tennessee.

Officials with the Obion County Sheriff’s Office got to the petting zoo and found the men unconscious and the camel still on the loose.

As police tried to move the victims to a safe location, the camel attacked an Obion County Sheriff’s vehicle and then moved towards deputies.

The sheriff’s office said in response to the movement, officers “had to put the camel down for the safety of everyone on the scene.”

The deceased victims were identified as Bobby Matheny, 42, and Tommy Gunn, 67.

“Both of them were great people. They would do anything they could for you,” friend Lisa Bell exclusively told The US Sun.

A family member of one of the victims told that the two men were trying to help capture the camel when the animal cornered them and attacked, stomping them to the ground.

“I cannot believe I’m making this post,” Autumn Staggs, a former coworker of Matheny, said on .

“To know him was to love him.”

She described the many laughs she shared with Matheny and said the loss hurt terribly.

“Five years of knowing you, five years of always counting on you, five years of you never failing to be a good coworker and friend but this hurts man.

“I pray you’re singing with the angels right now because so many are hurting tonight over your departure from earth,” Staggs added.

A camel expert explained to News Channel 5 that a full-grown camel can easily fit a person’s “head, arm, leg or torso in its mouth.”

The expert also added that a camel has enough strength to crush arms and legs with their neck while kicking forward and backward.

According to the expert, while most animals can only kick backward, a camel will do a combination of all those things while kneeling forward to crush a person.

It’s unclear whether the victims were visitors or employees at the zoo.

Officials have yet to determine how the camel got loose.