A leopard mauled six people - at one point attaching himself to a man's back - after escaping from a national park in West Bengal, India, in chaotic scenes that were caught on camera.

The 198lb cat was first spotted lurking outside a house in the village of Prakash Nagar in northeast India yesterday morning (19 July). Panicked locals raised the alarm and attempted to chase the animal out - at which point it attacked five people.

Kanchan Banerjee, from the Sukna Wildlife Range, told local newspaper The Hindu: "With the villagers trying to chase it, it tried to flee and injured five villagers in the process."

Mayhem ensued, with the population of around 3000 jumping on rooftops to avoid the leopard, as forest guards and policemen armed with batons tried to corner it. Rangers tried several times to administer tranquiliser shots, with no success.

It was eventually cornered in bushes, but not before it had leaped on a ranger's back (pictured above). The leopard was tranquilised and taken to a local vet clinic, but later died. It is thought the cat became startled by hundreds of terrified onlookers.

See the terrifying incident unfold in the video below.

Leopard leaps on man's back