Former Houston zookeeper crushed by elephant in Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (KTRK) -- A zookeeper who once worked in Houston was nearly killed by an elephant in Australia today.

A more than 10,000 pound elephant crushed zookeeper Lucy Melo inside the elephant barn at the Tarongo Zoo in Sydney.

Taronga Zoo Chief Executive Cameron Kerr says Melo was washing the 2-year-old male Asian elephant nicknamed, 'Mr. Shuffles' in a barn when it pinned her on Friday.

The zookeeper was revived after her heart stopped beating for five minutes. Melo is now in critical condition.

According to zoo officials, the attack happened in public view, although the public was never at risk. The cause of the attack is under investigation.

The zoo's website say this injured zookeeper once worked at the Houston Zoo as well as the Rio Grande Zoo and Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's still not clear how she was crushed.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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