An American woman who was on what she had called her “last big trip” was killed when a charging elephant flipped over the car she was traveling in at a national park in Zambia.
The “aggressive” creature buffeted the vehicle carrying six tourists and a guide, tour operator Wilderness said in a statement Tuesday. It said the 79-year-old victim died after Saturday’s incident on a game drive at the Kafue National Park in western Zambia.
The company did not name the victim but Rona Wells, her daughter, identified her as Gail Mattson in a post on Facebook. She said her mother died in a “tragic accident while on her dream adventure.”
A video circulating on social media apparently showing the incident shows a large elephant running toward a car, which slows down as the animal approaches its left side. The elephant then flips the vehicle over and the passengers can be heard gasping as the car rolls over.
NBC News does not know the condition or identity of the person who filmed the video.
Photos shared online of the car, which is emblazoned with the logo of the tour operator, show it tipped onto its side after the incident, with a deep dent in two of its side doors.
Wilderness, which describes itself as a “leading conservation and hospitality company” operating in eight African countries, including Zambia, did not respond to NBC News when asked to confirm the authenticity of the video and the photos.
But the tour operator’s CEO, Keith Vincent, said in the statement that the company’s “guides are all extremely well trained and experienced.”
“Sadly in this instance the terrain and vegetation was such that the guide’s route became blocked and he could not move the vehicle out of harm’s way quickly enough,” he added.
Another woman was also injured in the incident and taken to a medical facility in South Africa, the Wilderness statement said, adding that four others were treated for minor injuries.
“It’s extremely rare to see an elephant that irate,” Marlon du Toit, a wildlife photographer and safari guide, told the “TODAY” show Thursday. “Across Africa, there are thousands and thousands of guests on safari on a daily basis with no negative consequences.”
The exact cause of Mattson’s death was unclear, but the company said her body would be repatriated to her family in the United States with the support of local Zambian authorities and the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Lusaka.
“This is a tragic event and we extend our deepest condolences to the family of the guest who died,” the statement added.
NBC News has reached out to Mattson’s family for further comment.
Kafue National Park is Zambia’s largest and oldest national park, according to its website, and spans an area of more than 8,000 square miles. Vast regions of the park remain unexplored and the website says it is home to a variety of untamed wildlife.
A ‘bucket list trip’
Mattson spent her winters in Sun City West, Arizona, playing bridge and cards, but during the rest of the year, she “travels all over the world,” her friend Brenda Biggs told NBC News. Biggs and her husband, John Longabauth, became friends with Mattson when they moved to the area 6 ½ years ago.
Longabauth said Mattson spoke to the couple about her upcoming safari trip about two weeks ago, and called it “one of her bucket list trips.” He said she was very excited for the adventure.
Before she left, she gave the couple concert tickets for a show that would happen while she was traveling, telling them to enjoy the concert and “I’ll see you when I get back,” Longabauth recalled of the conversation.
Biggs said Mattson, who was almost 80 years old, told her that the African safari was her “my last big trip.” She said Mattson was “super excited because it was like the culmination of all the trips that she had gone on.”
An avid traveler, Mattson took to trips to Europe and Asia, Longabauth recalled, noting that she might have been to South America, too.
Biggs called her friend “flamboyant,” “friendly” and “fabulous” and said she loved bright colors. Mattson had taken over Biggs’ job as the event planner for their 200-member bridge club, she said.
“Gail was one of the more up people you’d ever want to meet,” Longabauth said. “She was always up. She was always optimistic. She was always seeing the good side of everybody.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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