A 22-year-old tourist was tragically killed by an elephant in front of her boyfriend while visiting Thailand, according to reports.
Blanca Ojanguren GarcÃa, a law and international relations student from the University of Navarra in Spain, was bathing an elephant at Koh Yao Elephant Care on Yao Yai Island on Friday, January 3, when the 50-year-old elephant attacked her with its trunk, as reported by Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
GarcÃa was rushed to a local hospital but later died from her injuries, according to local authorities.
Her boyfriend was among the eight tourists present at the sanctuary at the time of the incident. They, along with around 10 workers, were unharmed when the elephant turned, the sanctuary’s owner told El Mundo.
Initial reports indicated that the female elephant had gored GarcÃa with one of its tusks, but Spanish news agency EFE later clarified that this was not the case.
The sanctuary, which cares for three elephants, has since closed, with no scheduled date for reopening, according to the owner.
GarcÃa, who came from a military family, had just completed her professional internships at Spain’s navy headquarters in Madrid, according to El Pais. Her body was transferred to another hospital on the island of Phuket, where preparations were made to return her to Spain.
This tragic incident marks the first fatal elephant attack of 2025, reports El Pais. Over the past 12 years, there have been approximately 240 fatal elephant attacks, including 39 in 2024. Just last month, a 49-year-old woman was killed by a wild elephant at Phu Kradueng National Park.
