Tourist trampled to death by elephant while taking photos in South Africa

A Spanish tourist was trampled to death by an elephant in a national park in South Africa, local authorities said.

The 43-year-old man was killed after an adult elephant attacked him as he allegedly left his vehicle to take photos of a herd of elephants in Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa on Sunday, July 7. The North West Parks and Tourism Board confirmed the incident, Newzroom Afrika, NBC News and The guard reported.

According to a Spanish newspaper, Spanish authorities identified the victim as Carlos Luna from Zaragoza, Spain. The Avant-GardeHis body will be recovered and transported to Spain, the statement said.

Luna was with his fiancée and two other women when he left their car to take the photo, NBC News reported. An elephant then separated from the group and attacked him.

According to the source, the other passengers were unharmed, but Luna was taken to hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

“Despite the warnings of his fellow travellers and the occupants of two other vehicles that were at the observation site, he unfortunately did not heed their warnings,” said a statement from the North West Parks and Tourism Board, which is available The guard.

“An adult female elephant attacked the man, who then ran away from the elephant. Unfortunately, he could not escape or avoid the elephant, which had now been joined by the entire herd, but was caught and trampled to death.”

The panel added that tourists “are always informed of the importance of staying in the safety of the vehicle” as the animals are “unpredictable”. Tourists must also “respect the distance between vehicles and animals, give way to them and only disembark in specially designated areas”.

The board expressed its condolences to the victim’s family.

Pieter Nel, the body’s chief conservation officer, told Newsroom Africa after the attack: “We will not take any action against the elephants… It was a breeding group, they acted to protect their family.”

“…After the attack, they just turned around and disappeared into the world. So there are no measures planned against it. I think it was a purely natural instinct for them to react, so we are not planning anything further.”

Police investigations were launched following the incident.

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PEOPLE has contacted the North West Parks and Tourism Board for further comment.