Tourist dies as elephant runs amok

7 Mar 2011

One tourist was killed and three injured by an elephant that went berserk on a trek last week in an Andaman Sea national park. The incident took place when the trekking party of three elephants – two females and one male – carrying two foreign tourists apiece stopped at a glade in Khao Sok National Park on Tuesday.

The bull elephant, who goes by the name of Buki and was believed to be suffering with musth, suddenly went out of control and trampled an elderly Swiss national to death and seriously injured another. As the female elephants bolted, the tourists they were carrying jumped, fell off or were crashed into trees.

After the traumatic event in the park, 100kms north of Krabi, the survivors were transported by ambulance to Phuket’s Bangkok Hospital. Three of the elephant trekking party escaped with minor cuts and bruises, but two women, one Australian and one Swiss, were more seriously injured.

The 63-year-old Swiss female sustained a punctured lung and a number of broken ribs, while Australian Helen Gothe suffered a broken rib and bruising to her chest and limbs. After doctors had checked the Swiss woman’s injuries, they said she would be hospitalised for a minimum of two weeks.

Buki the bull elephant has been confined to his enclosure while authorities make a decision on his future. Musth is a hormonal condition that periodically afflicts bull elephants and is a massive surge of testosterone levels that often leads to cantankerousness and aggressive behaviour.

Tags: elephant, tourist, travel, kills, amok, tragedy