A Spanish tourist has died after an elephant forcefully knocked her over with its trunk at a popular animal sanctuary in Thailand.
Blanca Ojanguren Garcia, 22, from Valladolid, was bathing an elephant on Friday at the Koh Yao sanctuary on the Thai island of Yao Yai when the animal suddenly caused her the fatal blow.
Garcia, a Law and International Relations student, was rushed to a nearby hospital where she later died.
According to Spanish national paper El Pais the incident was confirmed by local police and the elephant care centre, which currently remains closed.
Reports had previously claimed the university student had been gored by the elephant, but trusted Spanish news agency EFE verified that this was not the case.
The incident was confirmed by local police and the sanctuary, which is currently closed as a result of the tragic accident.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that there were around 18 people present at the time of the incident, including Garcia’s boyfriend.
No one else was reportedly injured.
Blanca Ojanguren Garcia, 22, from Valladolid, died in Thailand after an elephant forcefully knocked her over with its trunk at a popular animal sanctuary
The incident happened on Friday at the Koh Yao sanctuary on the Thai island of Yao Yai. Picture shows tourists posing with an elephant at the elephant care centre where Garcia died
The Spaniard was a student at the University of Navarra but was living in Taiwan while she completed a six-month study abroad at Tamkang University.
She would have completed her undergraduate degree this year.
Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the consulate in Bangkok was in contact with Garcia’s family.
Her body has since been transferred to a hospital on the island of Phuket, where repatriation procedures are being prepared.
Valladolid Mayor Jesus Julio Carnero took to X to offer his ‘deepest condolences’ to Garcia’s family.
Bathing elephants is a popular tourist activity in the Southeast Asian country.
Thailand has a population of around 3,500 elephants. According to World Animal Protection – an animal welfare non-profit – around 2800 elephants live in tourist venues across the country.
Elephants are rarely aggressive but can act out if they feel threatened, or to protect their young.
The tragedy comes months after an also-Spanish tourist was horrifically crushed to death in front of his fiancee by an angry herd of elephants after he got out of his care to take photographs in a South African game reserve.
Carlos Luna, 43 from Ejea de los Caballeros near Zaragoza, Spain, was visiting the Pilanesberg National Park close to the world-famous tourist resort Sun City with his fiance when they spotted a breeding herd with three young by a lake.
Despite warnings from his three fellow passengers to get back into the car, Luna said he wanted to get close-ups of the six elephants and got out and walked towards them.
The screaming Spaniard was then seen racing back with his camera to safety through the bush to his friends in the car but was overtaken by a chasing herd of elephants who knocked him down and trampled him to death.
All that witnesses said was left after the 30-second attack was the tattered blood-soaked clothing of the tourist and the remnants of the tourist’s body crushed into the earth.
