Blanca Ojanguren García died after being attacked by an elephant at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre. Photo / A,NPZ,SM, social media
A 22-year-old Spanish tourist died after being attacked by an elephant she was bathing in Thailand.
Blanca Ojanguren Garcia was washing the animal at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre when it sank its tusk in her, later leading to her death.
Experts told the Clarin newspaper that the elephant had likely become stressed because of the pressure of living and interacting with tourists outside of its ecosystem.
Washing elephants and bathing with them are popular activities for tourists in Thailand.
The country’s department of national parks estimates that more than 4000 wild elephants live in its sanctuaries, national parks, and nature reserves and that there are a similar number of domesticated elephants, which are mostly used in tourist shows.
The World Animal Protection organisation estimates there are 2798 elephants held in tourism venues across the country.
The non-profit has previously warned that the animals are often kept in isolation and made to perform tricks and activities that are unnatural.
The group has also said so-called “trainers” often use cruel, punishment-based training, including hitting them with sticks or sharp metal objects.
A staff member told the media that García was bathing the elephant when she passed in front of the animal and it “stuck a tusk in her”, causing injuries from which she later died. The sanctuary appeared to be closed following the incident.
According to data from the Thai Department of National Parks, there have been at least 227 deaths caused by wild elephant attacks in the past 12 years, including 39 fatalities in 2024.
Most attacks occur with wild elephants, which sometimes cross into areas inhabited by people because of the loss of natural habitat.
The elephant centre, on the island of Yao Yai in southwestern Thailand, is advertised online as presenting “the true nature of the elephant” and says it is committed to “providing responsible and ethical interactions with elephants”.
Its website says it does not “control” or “use a hook on our elephants”.
Garcia was from Valladolid in northwest Spain and had been studying law and international relations at the University of Navarra, where she was a member of the security and defence club.
She was born to military parents and was a delegate of UNMUN, a simulation that seeks to imitate the procedures of the United Nations.
García was living in Taiwan on the Erasmus academic exchange programme and had visited Thailand as a tourist. She was at the elephant sanctuary with her boyfriend, an infantry cadet from Oviedo, who was present at the time of the attack.
Her family has not yet released a statement, but Jose Manuel Albares, the Spanish Foreign Minister, said its consulate in Bangkok is offering all necessary assistance.
The Faculty of Law at Navarra University said it “expresses its sorrow” for García’s death and “shares the grief of her family and asks for prayers for her soul”.
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