New Mexico woman is second American tourist killed by elephant in Zambia this year

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An American tourist died in Zambia this week after being trampled by an elephant during a wildlife excursion.

Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, was thrown from a vehicle in the town of Livingstone this week as a group of tourists were watching a herd of elephants. One of the elephants attacked the vehicle, CBS News reported. Tourneau’s group stopped near the Maramba Cultural Bridge because the herd was causing traffic jams. The woman was visiting the country from New Mexico.

“Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, of New Mexico, United States of America, died at around 5:50 p.m. 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,” Auxensio Daka, police commissioner of the Southern Province, told the country’s national broadcaster ZNBC.

Authorities did not provide further details about the attack.

Another American tourist was killed in a similar attack earlier this year. Gail Mattson, 79, of Minnesota, was killed in Zambia in March “on her dream adventure,” her daughter Rona Wells told CBS News.

The attack was filmed on a mobile phone. The group was on a safari tour in the country’s Kafue National Park. When a large bull elephant approached the vehicle, the occupants began to worry.

In the video, one person can be heard saying, “Oh my goodness,” before a man adds, “It’s coming fast.” The group’s car came to a stop and someone tried to move the elephant away.

However, the animal hit the car with its tusks and rolled over several times, which led to the woman’s death.

Zambian authorities ask tourists to be cautious when going on wildlife excursions.