On Monday, officials from the park reported that a Polish tourist and a Chinese tourist were taken to the hospital after their car was overturned by an elephant at South Africa’s premier Kruger National Park.
A helicopter was used to send an emergency medical team to the location of the accident within the expansive park. The Polish man, whose identity remains unknown, sustained broken ribs, while the Chinese woman, also unnamed, did not suffer serious injuries, according to park spokesman William Mabasa.
“We’re here every day, and we often encounter elephants on the roads,” Mabasa commented. “Typically, we give them space, but sometimes tourists do not.”
With over 1 million visitors to Kruger each year, such incidents are uncommon but not impossible, given that these animals can easily flip vehicles and uproot trees.
The most recent similar incident happened in November 2012, when an elephant flipped a car, resulting in injuries to one of the passengers.
