GAUHATI, India (April 7) — A wild elephant trampled to death a 60-year-old Dutch tourist who was on a safari at a national park in northeastern India on Tuesday.
The victim was part of a group looking for birds and rare monkeys in Kaziranga National Park in the northeastern state of Assam when they saw a wild male elephant, said S.N. Buragohain, the park director.
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Eight other tourists ran for safety but the Dutch man, identified as Robert Goldbach, tripped and was trampled to death, said Buragohain.
The group was accompanied by a guide and armed guards from the park, which is famous for its rare one-horned rhinoceroses, said Buragohain.
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"The guards opened fire at the (elephant) from their rifles but could not avert the tragedy," he said.
It wasn't immediately clear if the elephant was wounded, Buragohain said.
Human-animal conflicts are rare but not unprecedented in India's national parks. In 1999, an elephant trampled an American tourist to death while she was on a safari to see rhinos.
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