Five dangerous predators, including two lions, two tigers and a jaguar escaped from a zoo in western Germany on Friday, sparking a massive hunt, a spokesman for the local authorities told AFP.

A bear, which also broke out of the Eifel Zoo in Luenebach, was shot dead. Residents in the area have been advised to stay indoors while a hunt is under way for the big cats.

Owned by the Wallpott family, the zoo located close to the border with Luxembourg is home to around 400 animals, including a Siberian tiger and lions.

Friday's escape came two years after another similar case in eastern Germany, when two lions broke out of their cages at the Leipzig zoo.

One of the lions was shot dead while the other was eventually brought back into captivity.

UPDATE:

Five dangerous predators -- two lions, two tigers and a jaguar -- which reportedly escaped Friday from a German zoo close to the Luxembourg border "are in their cages", local authorities told AFP.

Officials had earlier asked residents to stay indoors and keep their windows and doors shut as a massive hunt was under way for the big cats. A district spokesman would not immediately give details on the felines' escape or how they were returned to captivity.