Brit tourist among two killed by charging elephant during Zambia safari trip gone wrong

An elderly British tourist and her pal from New Zealand were killed by an elephantwhile on a walking safari in Zambiatoday, police said.

Eastern Province Police Commissioner Robertson Mweemba said the victims were attacked by a female elephant that was with a calf at South Luangwa National Park. Safari guides who were with the group fired shots at the elephant in a desperate attempt to stop it from charging at the women. The elephantwas hit and wounded by the gunshots, but the guides were unable to prevent the attack and both women died at the scene on Thursday, policesaid.

READ MORE: Student, 22, killed by elephant while bathing animal at popular sanctuary

The South Luangwa National Park is located in eastern Zambia, around 600 kilometers (370 miles) from the capital, Lusaka.

Female elephants are known to very protective of their calves and can respond aggressively to what they perceive as threats. Last year, two American tourists were killed in separate encounters with elephants in different parts of Zambia. In both cases, the tourists were also elderly women and were on a safari vehicle when they were attacked.

Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, from New Mexico, was killed by an elephant during a safari drive in Zambia on June 19 last year. The attack came after her group stopped near the Maramba Cultural Bridge in Livingstone due to traffic caused by a herd, and left the vehilce in breach of National Park regulations.

In a seperate incident, Gail Mattson, 79, from Minnesota, was killed during a game drive in Zambia's Kafue National Park. The animal charged towards the truck she was in and flipped it over, killing Ms Mattson and injuring five others. Her daughter, Rona Wells, said in a heartbreaking post on Facebook that her mum was on her "dream adventure" when the tragedy claimed her life.

Earlier this year, a 22-year-old student from Spain was knocked to the ground and killed by an elephant whilst bathing it at an animal sactuary in Thailand. Blanca Ojanguren García, 22, was giving Clarín the elephant a bath on January 3 when it gruesomely drove its tusk into her at the Koh Yao Elephant Care centre on the island of Yao Yai.

It is understood she was travelling around Thailand and decided to visit the centre, popular with tourists who often visit to wash the animals. Blanca was studying Law and International Relations at the University of Navarra, in Pamplona in northeast Spain. The university said it "expresses its sorrow" for her death and "shares the grief of her family and asks for prayers for her soul."