Female tourist dies while bathing ‘stressed elephant’ in Thailand
A Spanish tourist has been killed by a “panicked” elephant attack as she was bathing the animal at a wildlife sanctuary in southern Thailand.
According to local police on Monday, the ill-fated tourist was a 23-year-old woman, identified by local media as Blanca Ojanguren García. She was hit by the trunk of a stressed elephant.
The incident occurred at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre in Thailand’s Phang Nga province, where bathing elephants is one of the attractions for tourists.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“A female tourist died while bathing an elephant,” local police chief Jaran Bangprasert said, as reported by AFP.
Authorities have contacted the Spanish Embassy to confirm the victim’s identity. It was not stated who the woman was with at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre.
The wildlife sanctuary declined to provide details of the incident when contacted.
It is not the first time an elephant has killed a human in Thailand.
According to Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, wild elephants in the country in the past 12 years have killed 227 people, including tourists.
Most recently, an elephant killed a 49-year-old woman in a national park in Loei province, northern Thailand, in December 2024.
Although encounters between villagers and wild elephants are common, attacks on animal sanctuaries are still rare.
Elephant bathing is a popular activity among visitors to Thailand, where about 2800 elephants are kept for tourism purposes across the country, according to World Animal Protection.
However, animal rights groups argue that bathing elephants can cause them distress, and some animal sanctuaries in the country do not allow it.
Originally published on CNN
