A 22-year-old tourist was killed by an elephant at a sanctuary in Thailand after the animal turned on her while she was bathing it, according to local media.
spanish newspapers The World and The Country Report that Blanca Ojanguren García, from northwestern Spain, was bathing an elephant with her boyfriend at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Center on Friday, January 3, when the elephant attacked her.
She was rushed to a local hospital, where she died.
García, who was a law and international relations student at the University of Navarra, Spain, was living in Taiwan as part of a student exchange program. She had traveled to Thailand on vacation with her boyfriend.
The Faculty of Law of the University of Navarra issued a statement on Friday sharing your condolences and asking for prayers.
Jesús Carnero, mayor of Valladolid, where García is from, also shared his condolences with his family, friends and schoolmates.
The owner of the sanctuary told El Mundo that García and her boyfriend were among a handful of tourists at the center that day, and were joined by approximately 10 staff members to bathe the animals.
The owner told El Mundo about the elephant He hit the woman with his trunk.. No one else was injured in the attack.
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Experts told local media that the elephant was likely stressed by the pressure of living and interacting with tourists.
Koh Yao Elephant Care Center says online is committed to “providing responsible and ethical interactions with elephants” and does not “control” or “use a bait on our elephants.”
Visiting elephants is a popular tourist activity in Thailand and although the creatures are mostly considered to be gentle giants, they occasionally attack visitors.
According to El País, in the last 12 years there have been 240 fatal incidents involving elephants in Thailand, including 39 last year.
Asian elephants are considered an endangered species, and around 2,800 of the animals are held in captivity in tourist facilities throughout Thailand, according to figures from World Animal Protection.
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