Elephant Tramples Tourists in Zambia

Two tourists were trampled to death by an elephant in Zambia after attempting to get close-up pictures of the animal over the weekend.

According to the AFP news agency, the pair was killed Saturday while on safari at Maramba River Lodge in the tourist hotspot of Livingstone.

"A lady from Belgium aged 57 and a 64-year-old man from the Netherlands were killed as they went close to the elephant trying to take photographs," police spokesman Danny Mwale confirmed in a statement.

ZNBC reported the elephant charged the woman after she approached to snap a picture. The man was also trampled while attempting to rescue her. Both victims sustained multiple injuries, according to police.

The incident comes one week after an elephant trampled a lodge security officer on his way to work in Livingstone.

Earlier this year, a baboon was blamed for a widespread power outage in the Zambian tourist town.

In 2015, at least two tourists were attacked by lions in South Africa, including a 22-year-old American woman who was killed at a lion park outside of Johannesburg.

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