An 80-year-old American woman has died during a safari in Zambia after an “aggressive” elephant “unexpectedly” attacked a car, The Independent reports.
A shocking video has emerged on social media showing an adult male elephant chasing a car, which stopped when the animal approached it. The elephant then overturned the car and the guide shouted: “Hey, hey, hey!”.
The incident happened around 9.30am local time on 30 March at Kafue National Park in Zambia. According to ABC News, the family identified the woman as Gail Mattson. The safari operators, Wilderness Destinations, said the elephant “unexpectedly attacked” a vehicle carrying six guests and a guide.
The company said in a statement to ABC News:
An aggressive bull elephant charged the vehicle carrying six guests and a guide who were on a game drive from Lufupa Camp.
Wilderness CEO Keith Vincent said:
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.
A group staying at Lufupa Camp in Africa’s largest wildlife sanctuary was on a photo shoot when the attack occurred, The Telegraph reports. African Parks, which manages the park, also controls 22 other wildlife sanctuaries in Africa.
The park sent a helicopter to the scene. The woman was airlifted and transferred to a hospital in South Africa with unspecified injuries. The victim died on the way to the hospital. Four other people suffered minor injuries. Local police and the Zambian National Parks Department have launched an investigation into the incident.
Local authorities and the US Embassy in Lusaka are cooperating to repatriate the woman’s body to her family. African elephants are among the largest land mammals on Earth.
