A 22-year-old tourist has died after being attacked by an elephant. The animal snapped and turned on the tourist while she was in the middle of bathing it.
The incident happened in Thailand at an elephant center. The 23-year-old tourist Blanca Ojanguren Garcia herald from Valladolid, Spain. She had been studying law and international relations at the University of Navarra. She was cleaning the elephant with her boyfriend at the Koh Yao Elephant Care on Friday, Jan. 3. That's when the elephant turned on Blanca and killed her, according to People.
According to police in Koh Yao Yai, the tourist died after being struck by the elephant's trunk. Previous reports suggested that the animal had gored her using one of its tusks. Besides the tourist, 18 other people were on site at the center when the attack happened. But no one else got injured from the animal. Although first responders rushed her to the hospital, she later passed away.
"A female tourist was killed while bathing an elephant," Jaran Bangprasert, the local police chief told AFP.
Elephant Kills Tourist
World Animal Protection released a statement following the incident.
"These intelligent and socially intricate animals, with a capacity for complex thoughts and emotions, endure profound suffering in captivity, as their natural social structures cannot be replicated artificially," the charity said.
It's just the latest deadly attack in Thailand. Previously, a woman died after encountering a wild elephant in Thailand's Phu Kradueng National Park. She was trampled to death after encountering the animal in the wild.
