US tourist killed in elephant attack in Zambia – the second this year

JOHANNESBURG – A U.S. tourist was killed by an elephant in the Zambian town of Livingstone on Wednesday, the second such attack in the country this year, local officials said.

Officials said Friday that 64-year-old Juliana Gle Tourneau was killed when an elephant, part of a herd the tourists were watching, attacked their vehicle, ejected Tourneau and trampled her.

She was part of a group that stopped near the Maramba Cultural Bridge because the herd of elephants was causing too much traffic near the bridge, they added.

“Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, of New Mexico, United States of America, died at about 5.50pm on Wednesday after she was pushed from a parked vehicle that had come to a stop due to traffic caused by elephants around the Maramba Cultural Bridge,” Southern Province Police Commissioner Auxensio Daka told Zambian national broadcaster ZNBC.

This is the second such attack this year, after another American tourist was killed during a safari in a Zambian national park in March this year when an elephant attacked a truck, overturning it, killing the tourist and injuring five others.

Zambian authorities have urged tourists to exercise extreme caution when viewing wildlife across the country.