Hungarian twins killed by pet dog

BUDAPEST, Hungary (Reuters) -- An Alaskan Malamute dog mauled to death month-old twins in a Budapest apartment as their mother tried unsuccessfully to pull it away, police have said.

"It was an accident, there was no crime," Budapest Police spokesman Mihaly Dezsi said.

The twins, a boy and a girl, were killed when the dog attacked them in the family apartment on Wednesday.

Police said the mother was at home and tried to save the children from the attack.

Emergency service workers attempted but failed to resuscitate one of the infants.

In a separate incident in Germany this week two dog owners were convicted of manslaughter after their pets jumped over a school fence and fatally attacked a six-year-old boy.

Dezsi said the Budapest dog was taken to an animal hygiene institution for examination, but said there were no plans to press charges against anyone.

The malamute is not an aggressive dog but is a hunter by nature and might see a small child as prey, malamute breeder Kristina Illes, told Hungarian news agency MTI.

Illes said it was possible that the infants' crying had upset the dog, though she did not rule out that the animal may only have been attempting to play with the babies.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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