A 22-year-old Spanish woman, Blanca Ojanguren García, was fatally injured by an elephant while participating in a bathing activity at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre in southern Thailand. The incident occurred on January 3, according to Bild.
Ojanguren, a law and international relations student from Valladolid, Spain, was on an exchange program at Tamkang University in Taiwan through the University of Navarra. She had traveled to Thailand for vacation with her boyfriend, an infantry cadet from Oviedo, according to Yahoo News.
While at the elephant care center, Ojanguren was part of a group of tourists engaged in bathing the elephants. During the exercise, the 50-year-old female elephant suddenly pushed her with its trunk, leading to severe injuries. Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, she succumbed to her injuries shortly after, according to Stern.
The attack occurred in the presence of her partner and other vacationers, but no one else was harmed. "The elephant reacted unexpectedly after becoming stressed due to excessive interaction with tourists," experts noted, as cited by Sky News.
The Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre was closed indefinitely following the incident, and its website was taken offline. Tourist police officers launched an investigation into the center's licenses and operating conditions, according to La Razón.
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the death and stated that the consulate in Bangkok is assisting Ojanguren's family. "The consulate in Bangkok is in contact with the relatives and is providing them with all necessary consular assistance," the Ministry said, according to El Mundo.
Valladolid Mayor Jesús Julio Carnero expressed his condolences on social media, saying, "My deepest condolences to Blanca's family and her other family from the Pinoalbar school," according to People.
Bathing with elephants is a tourist activity in Thailand, where visitors are allowed to scrub the animals with mud in rivers or ponds. The World Animal Protection organization estimates that nearly 2,800 elephants are held in tourism venues across Thailand, where they are often exploited for entertainment, according to Bangkok Post.
"The elephant was probably under great stress due to constant interactions with tourists," animal rights activists told The Thaiger, as cited by Die Zeit.
Incidents involving elephants are not uncommon in Thailand. According to the Department of National Parks, there were at least 240 deaths as a result of attacks by wild elephants in the past 12 years. In the previous year alone, there were 39 fatalities, including both locals and tourists, as reported by La República.
The increasing number of human-elephant conflicts is attributed to the loss of natural habitats, which forces wild elephants to encroach on human-inhabited areas.
Thailand is home to approximately 4,000 wild elephants residing in sanctuaries, parks, and nature reserves. An equal number of domesticated elephants are used in tourist shows and camps throughout the country.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.