This is the heart-stopping moment an endangered gorilla GRABBED a child, dragging him around for 10 minutes as the four-year-old's family watched on in horror.

A special zoo response team had to be dispatched immediately to shoot and kill the animal at Cincinnati Zoo.

The child fell up to 12 feet into an enclosure for the animals and was then grabbed by a gorilla.

Terrifying footage shows how the child was then dragged around for 10 minutes before authorities could deal with the animal.

At one stage the gorilla races through the water, clutching the child as it goes.

After the gorilla was killed, the child was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre and he is said to have sustained no serious injuries.

But zoo bosses admitted that the child was in "a life-threatening situation".

Director Thane Maynard said that authorities had no other choice but to put the 17-year-old, 400-pound-plus male gorilla named Harambe down.

He added: "They made a tough choice and they made the right choice because they saved that little boy's life.

An investigation into the incident is underway, however zoo bosses claim the child crawled through a barrier before falling into the moat area, Mirror reported.

212-11