A British tourist has been killed and two of her relatives injured by a performing elephant in a Thai resort that went berserk during a show, a British Embassy spokesman said Tuesday.
Andrea Taylor, 23, of Lancashire, was attacked during the show at Suan Nong Nuch, a private animal park in Pattaya, 44 miles southeast of Bangkok. She died of internal injuries at a local hospital.
Her sister, Helen, 20, suffered serious internal injuries but survived. Her father, Geoffrey, 53, was less seriously hurt.
Both of them are hospitalised. Thai police are investigating, they said.
Newspaper, the Bangkok Post reported that the bull elephant had turned on the handler of another elephant, grabbing him with its trunk and hurling him to the ground, before turning on the tourists sitting in the front row.
After the attack, the elephant was recaptured by staff at the park, the report added.
Pattaya Tourist Police, liaising with the main police force in the case, said officers were investigating whether the park had been negligent.
A spokesman said: "No-one has been charged yet, but we have been informed it is possible that the elephant handlers involved could be arrested for questioning soon."
He said no information about potential charges was available.
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