Gauhati - A 60-year-old Dutch tourist was trampled to death by a wild elephant during a safari inside a national park in north-eastern India on Tuesday.
The victim was part of a group looking for birds and rare monkeys in Kaziranga National Park in the north-eastern state of Assam when they saw a wild male elephant, said SN Buragohain, the park director.
Eight other tourists ran for safety but the Dutch man, identified as Robert Goldbrach, tripped and was trampled to death, said Buragohain.
The group was accompanied by a guide and armed guards from the park, which is famous for its rare one-horned rhinoceroses, said Buragohain.
"The guards opened fire at the (elephant) from their rifles but could not avert the tragedy," he said.
It wasn't immediately clear if the elephant was wounded, Buragohain said.
Human-animal conflicts are rare but not unprecedented in India's national parks. In 1999, an elephant trampled an American tourist to death while she was on a safari to see rhinos. - Sapa-AP