Angus McComiskey/Alamy
An African bull elephant in Kafue National Park in western Zambia in 2023
CNN
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An elderly American woman was killed in Zambia after an elephant attacked a vehicle carrying tourists Kafue National Park.
Another woman was injured and taken to a medical facility in South Africa after the incident on Saturday, the Wilderness conservation and hospitality company, which was running the trip, said in a statement released on Tuesday.
Four other people were also slightly injured.
Wilderness CEO Keith Vincent said the vehicle, which was carrying six guests and a driver, was “unexpectedly charged” by a bull elephant during the game drive.
“Our drivers are all extremely well trained and experienced, but unfortunately in this case the terrain and vegetation was such that the driver’s path was blocked and he was unable to move the vehicle off the road quickly enough,” Vincent said.
“It is a tragic event and we offer our deepest condolences to the family of the guest who died,” he said.
“We also, of course, support those guests and the driver involved in this distressing incident,” he added.
A helicopter rushed to the scene and the authorities are conducting an investigation.
The dead woman has since been named as 79-year-old Gail Mattson by her family, correcting the age originally reported by Wilderness.
Mattson’s son, Blake Vetter, told CNN the family heard about Mattson’s death from the American embassy. According to Vetter, Mattson was a grandmother and a retired mortgage professional.
“Everybody loved her and she was the center of attention,” Vetter said. “I mean he was 79 years old and he wanted to spend a month in Africa. She would be the first to understand that this could happen. Everyone wants to blame the elephant and the driver, but no, it was a horrible accident.”
Mattson’s daughter, Rona Wells, also posted about her death on Facebook and called the trip a “dream adventure” for her mother.
“We’d like to share some amazing photos from our lovely mum’s trip to South Africa with her friends and family. Unfortunately, she lost her life in a tragic accident while on her dream adventure,” Wells said.
Zambia is popular with safari travelers thanks to a number of national parks and the quality of its guides.
Kafue is the largest national park in the country and is home to more than 200 species of animals. It is known for lion and leopard sightings as well as an incredible variety of antelope species, many of which are rarely seen elsewhere.
This is not the first time an American tourist has died in the park. In September 2016, Bianca Rudolph was found dead in her hunting cabin after a fatal shotgun blast. Her husband, Lawrence Rudolph, was sentenced last year to life in prison for her murder.