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A New Zealand tourist and her British cousin were trampled to death by a charging elephant “in a matter of seconds” while on safari in Zambia, an inquest has found.
Alison Taylor, 67, from Porirua, died alongside Janet Taylor Easton, 67, of Bradford, during a walkingsafari in South Luangwa National Park on July 3 last year.
BBC News has reported that an inquest at Bradford Coroner’s Court found the deaths were the result of misadventure.
Alison Jean Taylor, 67, from Porirua. Photo / Facebook via RNZ
Assistant coroner Caroline Chandler said a report from Zambia’s Ministry of Tourism “does not add very much” to the circumstances of the deaths, the BBC reported.
The court heard the pair were on a walking safari organised by travel company Expert Africa and had set out early for a guided walk towards the Luangwa River.
They were accompanied by a guide and a tracker when a female elephant and a younger animal were spotted in the distance and initially appeared calm.
“The guide adjusted the walk so they were downwind and remained undetected,” Chandler said.
“What happened next is described as happening in a matter of seconds.
The two women were killed by an elephant while on safari last year. Photo / 123RF
“The tracker saw the elephant charging from behind and shouted towards the scout, who fired a warning shot. The elephant did not stop.”
The elephant reached the group quickly and Easton fell.
She died from traumatic chest injuries caused by the attack.
Chandler spoke to Easton’s brother, William, who attended the hearing by video link, saying: “You still have a lot of unanswered questions and I hope you get to the bottom of those so you and the rest of the family can have some closure”.
Alison Taylor’s neighbour, who did not want to be named, previously described her as an “amazing, amazing woman”, noting she had travelled many places, including Antarctica and Africa.
At the time of the deaths, Eastern Province police commissioner Robertson Mweemba spoke to the Zambia Daily Mail.
“The two female tourists, while taking a safari walk to a crossing point at Luangwa river, spotted an elephant with a calf at a distance and diverted for about 50 metres away, but within a few minutes after diverting, [the armed officer] who is usually behind, saw the elephant charging at them," he said.
“He shouted, ‘Elephant’. As they turned to see, they saw it charging at a high speed and, due to the fact that Alison Jean Taylor had a leg problem, she was caught first and, while the wildlife police officer fired warning shots, Janet Taylor was caught as well.”
The sisters had been moving between camps when they died.
