Two tourists were injured Monday when an elephant charged and overturned their car in South Africa, according to the Associated Press.
The tourists are of "Chinese origin," according to a statement released from Kruger National Park. One of the tourists said he was from Hong Kong, according to a hospital official.
One of the tourists is polish, according to the Daily Maverick, a South Africa newspaper.
The elephant attacked the vehicle along the road at 6:30 a.m. on Monday. An emergency medical team in a helicopter rushed to the scene to help the injured male driver, according to the statement from the park. He was taken to Clinix Phalaborwa Private Hospital, which is located near the park.
The man is in critical condition with multiple rib fractures, and his female companion is being treated for a pelvis fracture at the same hospital, said a hospital official. They plan to transfer the couple to a hospital in the Pretoria area.
The official was not authorized to speak to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.
It's unclear why the elephant became aggressive, said William Mabasa, the park spokesman. He appealed to the public to be alert when visiting Kruger Park. He advised people not to get too close if they see an elephant approaching on the road.
Local people used to elephants on the road give them space, but "tourists sometimes don't," said Mabasa.
Kruger National Park is located in the northeast of South Africa, near the borders of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The park receives over a million visitors per year, and incidents like this are very rare. The park was established in 1898 to protect the wildlife of the South Africa Lowveld, with a large number of different species of animal and plant life.
"These treasures represent the cultures, persons and events that played a role in the history of the Kruger National Park and are conserved along with the park's natural assets," reads the official website.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
