Heartbreaking tributes have been paid to a tourist crushed to death by an elephant in front of his screaming fiancée in the South Africa after getting out of the car to take photos.
He was horribly crushed to death by a herd of angry elephants in a nature reserve after wanting close-up photos of them on July 7.
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Authorities confirmed that the dead man, aged 43, was the head of the cleaning company Carlos Luna, from the town of Ejea de los Caballeros, in northern Spain.
Luna reportedly got out of his car to take photos of the elephants in Pilanesberg National Park before they were trampled.
A Spanish consul in South Africa today he would have gone to the capital Pretoria to help with the repatriation of his body.
Police told local media that the dead man, his fiancée and two other women were driving through the reserve when they stopped after spotting three elephants and two calves.
The other occupants of the car were unharmed, but an investigation is underway.
A former colleague of Luna, quoted in a local newspaper, described him as a “good worker and a Cool man.”
He added: “He liked motorcycles and go out on your mountain bike.”
The head of the Spanish safari agency, Alex Lacadena, told the newspaper he was told the attack happened because the elephant matriarch felt threatened when she was approached.
He said: “The first rule of a safari is not to get out of the vehicle or get up.
“When you’re in a 4×4, wild animals don’t see people, they see a block – and they only react when you do something out of the ordinary.”
It is thought that Luna was on safari holiday with his fiancée, accompanied by two of her friends from Johannesburg.
The four visitors were driving when they spotted a breeding herd with three calves at the edge of a lake.
Despite his traveling companions telling him to return to the car, the tourist insisted on taking close-ups of the six elephants and got out and walked towards them.
A huge 3.5 ton adult cow that was protecting the young ones in the herd became frightened and attacked the man, accompanied by two adult bulls.
The attack lasted 30 seconds.
Screaming, he ran back with his camera to safety through the bush to his friends in the car, but was overtaken by the pursuing herd, which knocked him down and trampled him to death.
All witnesses said was left after the attack were bloody clothes and his remains.
A spokesperson for the North-West Parks & Tourism Board said: “The elephants immediately left the site without any aggression towards nearby vehicles and disappeared into the bushes.
“The guest was a male Spanish citizen who entered the Bakgatia Gate with three friends and not far from the gate came across a herd of breeding elephants feeding at some distance from the road.”
Pieter Nel from the NW Parks & Tourism Board stressed that all tourists are warned not to get out of their cars and that the information is printed on their entry tickets, which is not only for the safety of guests, but also of animals.
Nel said: “The Council is very saddened by this tragic accident and would like to express its sincere condolences to the deceased next of relatives and friends.”
A ranger speaking on condition of anonymity said: “It was a very stupid thing to do and the tourist was literally shouted at to get back in the car but wanted to take photos of the herd.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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