A Herd of African Elephant at South Luangwa National Park,Zambia (Picture: Getty Images)
Two elderly tourists from the UK and New Zealand have been killed by an elephant.
The victims,named by police as Brit Easton Janet Taylor,68,and Alison Jean Taylor,67,were attacked by an elephant with its calf at South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia.
The pair were on a walking safari when the animal charged at them around 6.20am local time this morning.
Guides shot at the elephant to deter it but were unable to stop the attack.
Rangers tried shooting at the elephant but could not stop the attack (Picture: Getty Images)
Both women died at the scene at the national park,which is around 370 miles from the capital,Lusaka.
The area’s Police Commanding Officer Robertson Mweemba said the tourists were walking towards a crossing point at Luangwa alongside two armed wildlife officers and two others when the elephant charged.
Both victims suffered fractured limbs and deep cuts in the stampede.
Female elephants can be protective of their calves and are known to become aggressive to perceived threats.
The two deaths came two months after a 68-year-old woman was trampled to death by a heard of elephants in South Africa.
She had been staying at Sirheni Bushveld Camp in the country’s Kruger National Park when she left her husband sleeping in their accommodation,and took a stroll outside just before 11pm.
The pair were walking towards a crossing at the Luangwa River when the attack unfolded
(Picture: Getty Images)
CCTV cameras captured her walking out of the gates of the camp and onto a dark road,at which point she was met by a herd of elephants with calves.
Panicked,the animals charged at the pensioner,trampling her to death.
In June last year a US tourist was thrown out of a vehicle by an elephant and trampled to death in Zambia.
Juliana Gle Tourneau,64,of New Mexico,was watching a herd of elephants near the Maramba Cultural Bridge in Livingstone on Wednesday when one of the animals attacked.
United News - unews.co.za