Elephant gores Scottish tourist on resort island in Thailand

A British tourist was gored to death by a Thai elephant in front of his horrified teenage daughter while trekking on the island of Koh Samui.

CNN reported that Gareth Crowe, 36, and his 16-year-old daughter, Eilidh, were riding the elephant when it shook them off its back.

A foreign tourist was killed and two others were injured yesterday after a rutting elephant went berserk and then ran off into a crowd in Surat Thani’s Koh Samui district. It then gored Mr Crowe as he lay on the ground before stamping on him.

Crowe and his daughter were thrown off the elephant’s back after the handler had dismounted to take some pictures of the tourists.

His daughter and the trainer, a Myanmar national, were injured but escaped and were out of danger, he said.

“We suspect that the hot weather made the elephant angry and that he was not accustomed to his mahout”, police told reporters, referring to the person who trains, controls and rides an elephant, usually after years of building up a close bond with the animal. “He was struggling a bit with that, so there were indications that things were wrong”. If your destination is Krabi or Phang Nga think again.

About 4,000 domesticated elephants – and fewer than 3,000 wild elephants – work in the industry, according to reports.

The country’s use of animals for tourism is under increased scrutiny after a string of scandals and investigations by rights groups. STA Travel, which provides holidays for 2.5 million students and young people each year, last year also stopped offering tours that include elephant rides or trips to the Tiger Temple in Thailand. “They’re simply too unpredictable”.

A spokesman at the British embassy said they were aware of the incident and were providing assistance to the victim’s family.