22-year-old tourist dies after bathing elephant at Thailand sanctuary – The National


A 22-year-old tourist died. Elephants in a sanctuary in Thailand According to local media reports, the animal turned her on while she was bathing him.

Spanish newspapers The world And The country According to the report, Blanca Ojungorin Garcia, from northwest Spain, was bathing an elephant with her boyfriend at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Center on Friday, January 3, when the elephant attacked her.

She was taken to a local hospital, where she died.

Garcia, a law and international relations student at Spain's University of Navarra, was living in Taiwan as part of a student exchange program. She went to Thailand on vacation with her boyfriend.

The Law Faculty of the University of Navarre issued a statement on Friday, X Sharing his condolences And asking for prayers.

Story continues below ad.

Jesus Carneiro, the mayor of Valladolid, where Garcia is from, also shared his condolences with his family, friends and schoolmates.

The owner of the shelter told El Mundo that Garcia and her boyfriend were among them. A handful of tourists at the center that day, and was joined by about 10 staff members to bathe the animals.

Story continues below ad.

The owner called El Mundo an elephant Hit the woman with her trunk.. No one else was injured in the attack.

For news that affects Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you as they happen.

Get breaking national news.

For news that affects Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you as they happen.

Experts told local media that the elephant was likely stressed due to the pressure of being with tourists and interacting.

Koh Yao Elephant Care Center Call it online It is committed to “providing responsible and ethical interactions with elephants” and does not “use hooks” or “control” our elephants.

Walking with elephants is a popular tourist activity in Thailand, and while the creatures are mostly considered gentle giants, they do occasionally attack visitors.

According to El Pace, over the past 12 years 240 fatal incidents Adding elephants to Thailand, including 39 last year.

Asian elephants are considered an endangered species, and there are approximately 2,800 animals Held in captivity in tourist facilities across Thailand, according to data from World Animal Protection.


© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.





Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *