SKUKUZA, SOUTH AFRICA — Two Chinese tourists were injured when their vehicle was overturned by an elephant on the H1-7 tar road between Shingwedzi and Punda Maria in the Kruger National Park (KNP) around 06:30 yesterday morning.
— News24
The driver sustained serious injuries and was taken to Clinix Phalaborwa Private Hospital after being assisted by a local doctor and paramedics on the scene. The passenger only sustained minor injuries.
“It is not yet clear why the elephant turned aggressive. However, we would like to appeal to the public to always be on the look-out for these huge animals and try not to get too close whenever they see one approaching on the road,” KNP’s head of communications and marketing, William Mabasa said.
He said that tourists should always make sure that there is a safe distance between themselves and wild animals, especially elephants — enough to make a quick getaway if necessary.
By the time rangers got to the scene the elephant had disappeared, and since the animal has not been marked or tagged, the park has no way of tracking its movements.
The tourists slept over at Punda Maria Camp last night and were scheduled to sleep-over at Mopani Camp yesterday.
