American Tourist Dead, Five Others Injured After Bull Elephant Attacks Safari Convoy
Five American tourists were left injured, and one tragically died, after a bull elephant attacked their safari convoy at an Zambian wildlife sanctuary, The Daily Mail reported. Terrifying video of the incident shows the moment the 10-foot elephant pounced on the caravan and flipped their vehicle.
It happened around 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Lufupa Camp within the Kafue National Park, the largest game reserve on the continent. Kafue is owned and operated by African Parks, which also owns 22 similar wildlife sanctuaries in Africa.
Six tourists had embarked on a safari operated by Wilderness Zambia, but things quickly went awry when the elephant spotted the party.
Footage captured by one passenger shows the elephant chasing the convoy for a substantial distance, accelerating gradually as it tracks the group through dense vegetation. When the vehicle runs out of road, the tour guide attempts to back up; however, the elephant takes this opportunity to pounce, quickly flipping the vehicle.
Immediately after the incident, Kafue sent a helicopter into the park to evacuate the victims. One of the party’s members, an 80-year-old woman, died shortly following the attack. Her cause of death has not been publicly released. Another woman remains hospitalized in serious condition. The other four members of the party were reportedly treated for minor injuries before being released. Their identities have not been publicly disclosed.
Many on social media questioned why the tour guide would stop his vehicle, a matter that Wilderness Zambia CEO Keith Vincent clarified in a statement.
“Our guides are all extremely well-trained and experienced, but sadly in this instance the terrain and vegetation was such that the guide’s route became blocked and he could not move the vehicle out of harm’s way quickly enough,” Vincent explained.
“This is a tragic event and we extend our deepest condolences to the family of the guest who died,” he continued. “We are also, naturally, supporting those guests and the guide involved in this distressing incident.”
Vincent added that Wilderness Zambia is arranging to have the deceased woman’s body returned to the United States for a proper burial.
Elephant attacks on safari convoys are hardly unprecedented. Just last week, harrowing footage of another attack was captured at a wildlife park in South Africa. It shows an elephant repeatedly ramming the front of a safari truck and trying to flip it whilst panicked tourists mill about inside.
