A 22-year-old tourist was killed by an elephant at a sanctuary in Thailand after the animal turned on her while she was giving it a bath, according to local media.
Spanish newspapers The World And El País report that Blanca Ojanguren García, from northwest Spain, was bathing an elephant alongside 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 Spain’s University of Navarra, was living in Taiwan as part of a student exchange program. She had gone on vacation to Thailand with her boyfriend.
The Faculty of Law of the University of Navarra released a statement on Friday X: sharing his condolences and ask for prayers.
Jesus Carnero, mayor of Valladolid, where García is from, also shared his condolences with his family, friends and classmates.
The owner of the sanctuary told El Mundo that García and her boyfriend were part of a group a handful of tourists at the center that day, and were joined by about 10 staff members to bathe the animals.
The owner told El Mundo about the elephant 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 life and interacting with tourists.
The Koh Yao Elephant Care Center said online it is committed to “providing responsible and ethical interactions with elephants” and does not “control” or “use hooks on our elephants.”
Visiting elephants is a popular tourist activity in Thailand, and although the creatures are primarily seen as gentle giants, they sometimes attack visitors.
According to El Pais, over 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 them are held captive in tourist facilities throughout Thailand, according to figures from World Animal Protection.
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