(Adds comments from zoo, details)

SINGAPORE, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Three white tigers mauled a Malaysian to death in Singapore's zoo on Thursday after the man jumped into their enclosure, a zoo official said.

Nordin Bin Montong, 32, a Malaysian working in Singapore, leapt into the moat of the white tiger exhibit and was attacked, said Biswajit Guha, assistant director of zoology at the Singapore Zoo in a statement.

The noise from the attack caught the attention of zookeepers nearby and they eventually managed to distract the tigers and rescue Nordin, still alive.

"Keepers managed to separate the worker from the tiger. While waiting for the ambulance, our vets attended to him," said Guha. "The worker tragically succumbed to his wound."

The Singapore Zoo said the white tiger exhibit would be closed and investigations were ongoing after the midday attack.

According to conservation group WWF, there are about 4,000 tigers left in the world and they are considered an endangered species.

White tigers are even rarer because they suffer from a genetic condition that strips their fur of the orange pigment, leaving the animal with snow white fur, black stripes and blue eyes. (Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)

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