A 13-year-old boy was mauled to death by two tigers in Kelantan as he was helping his father tap rubber, local media reported today.

The boy, Ismail Adam, was following his father through the jungle when he suddenly screamed, local dailies said.

Ismail's father Hamid turned to see two tigers attacking his son and tried to chase them away by shouting and hurling clods of earth.

The boy suffered deep wounds to his neck and was pronounced dead on arrival at a government clinic.

State Wildlife and National Parks Department deputy director Mohamad Ismail said a team had been sent to the area to capture the tigers.

The World Wide Fund for Nature estimates there are some 600-650 tigers left in Malaysia, where dwindling forests have brought them into dangerously close proximity with humans. - AFP