A U.S. tourist was killed Wednesday after being trampled by an elephant in Zambia.
Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, was with a group of tourists in Livingstone, Zambia, a country in south-central Africa, when a herd of elephants attacked their vehicle, local officials announced Friday, according to the Associated Press (AP). Tourneau was reportedly thrown out of the vehicle and trampled.
The group of tourists were reportedly stopped near the Maramba Cultural Bridge due to traffic caused by the herd of elephants, the AP reported, citing local officials. (RELATED: Angry Elephants Trample Car After It Rammed Into One Of Their Babies).
“Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, of New Mexico, United States of America, died on Wednesday around 17.50 after being knocked from a parked vehicle which had stopped due to traffic caused by elephants around the Maramba Cultural Bridge,” Southern Province Police Commissioner Auxensio Daka told a local Zambian national broadcaster, the AP reported.
A U.S. tourist was killed in Zambia elephant attack, according to officials. It is the second such attack this year after another American tourist was killed in March. https://t.co/9GESKxB3TX
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 21, 2024
This is the second reported incident of an elephant killing a U.S. tourist in Zambia this year.
Back in March, an elephant charged at an 80-year-old tourist, according to The Telegraph. The animal, weighing five tons, reportedly charged at a safari vehicle containing six tourists in total. The elderly tourist was killed in the incident while two others sustained injuries, the outlet noted.
A video capturing the incident shows the elephant running through the grass as the safari vehicle drives by. The elephant can then be seen rushing towards the vehicle, pushing it over as the tourists can be heard yelling.
One international client killed by elephant in Kafue National Park from lufupa Lodge during Safari. Two injured and being evacuated to Lusaka. Full details being awaited from the operator through the Senior Warden Kafue Region. Very unfortunate indeed. pic.twitter.com/4ntbyhec1G
— Gina (@ginnydmm) April 2, 2024
The vehicle stopped moments before the elephant charged at them due to a blockage on the path, the CEO of the safari company, Keith Vincent, told The Telegraph.
