In a terrifying incident, a US tourist from New Mexico was killed by an elephant in Zambia after it attacked her vehicle during a safari drive on Wednesday. Officials reported that the elephant pulled Juliana Gle Tourneau, 64, out of the vehicle and trampled her, Metro reported. The incident occurred near the Maramba Cultural Bridge in Livingstone when the group had stopped due to traffic caused by an elephant herd.

She was taken to a clinic in Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, where she was declared dead on arrival. According to a police statement, her injuries included deep wounds on the right shoulder blade and forehead, a fractured left ankle, and a slightly depressed chest.

Ms Tourneau died around 5.50 pm ”after being knocked from a parked vehicle which had stopped due to traffic caused by elephants around the Maramba Cultural Bridge”, Southern Province Police Commissioner Auxensio Daka told Zambian station ZNBC on Friday.

Officials did not say whether anyone else was injured or what led to the elephant’s aggression.

This tragic event marks the second fatal elephant attack on a US tourist in Zambia this year. In March, Gail Mattson, a 79-year-old woman from Minnesota, was killed in a similar incident during a game drive in Zambia’s Kafue National Park. An elephant charged and overturned the truck, resulting in her death and injuries to five others. 

In response to these incidents, Zambian authorities have urged tourists to exercise extreme caution while observing wildlife. Similar concerns have been raised in neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe and Botswana, which have also reported increasing elephant populations and deadly attacks in recent years.

According to experts, human deaths are rare in encounters with elephants. ”This is a freak accident. It’s probably just some sort of coming together of unfortunate circumstances that led to this,” Nikhil Advani, a senior director at the World Wildlife Fund, a nonprofit that works on environmental protection and conservation efforts told the New York Times. 

A pilot was seriously injured after ejecting from an F-35 fighter jet, which crashed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, On Tuesday, CBS News quoted two officials of the US Department of Defence as saying that the aircraft was a developmental model of the $135 million jet, which was en route to Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California, more than 1,100 kilometres away from Albuquerque. Local outlet KOB4 said the crash took place around 1.50pm (local time) after refuelling at Kirtland Air Force Base.

Lieutenant Jason Fejer, a spokesperson for Albuquerque Fire Rescue, said in a social media video that multiple agencies responded to the crash.

Videos posted on social media show the scorched wreckage of the plane burning in a field by the side of a road and firefighters trying to douse the blaze. They successfully controlled the fire, said Mr Fejer.

#BREAKING: F-35 Crash at Albuquerque Airport!

An F-35 fighter jet has just crashed during takeoff at Albuquerque International Airport, New Mexico.

The pilot did eject from the aircraft just in time and is reported to be okay and being transported to a nearby hospital.

The… pic.twitter.com/R57CdfG402

— Larry (@InterStarMedia) May 28, 2024

“Grateful for the rapid action of the first responders who arrived to the scene. Praying for the pilot,” Albuquerque’s Mayor Tim Keller said on social media.

The fighter jet went down near International Sunport in Albuquerque. The pilot was conscious and rushed to University of New Mexico Hospital, as per CBS News.

It is not known if the pilot was an Air Force serviceman or a civilian.

New York Post said that this is the second crash involving a military plane in two months in New Mexico in as many months. In April, an F-16 Fighting Falcon went down in a remote area near the Holloman Air Force Base in the southern part of the state.

The pilot suffered minor injuries after he ejected from the plane.

Located on the southern edge of Albuquerque, Kirtland Air Force Base is home to the 377th Air Base Wing.