Elephant trainer charged with negligence in death of Spanish student at Thai conservation center
Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Thai authorities arrested an elephant handler in the case of a 22-year-old Spanish tourist who died after being injured by an elephant at a sanctuary in the south of the country.
Police charged Theerayut Inthaphudkij, 38, with negligence causing death after the incident at Koh Yao Elephant Care Center, according to a statement by the Phang Nga Tourism and Sports Office.
Blanca Ojanguren Garcia sustained a head injury as she was bathing a 45-year-old female elephant at the center that charges tourists, including children as young as four, between $9 and $21 an hour to help out with caring for elephants. She was taken to the hospital where she later died.
Valladolid in northern Spain, Garcia's hometown, confirmed the law student's death, with Mayor Jesus Julio Carnero saying she had attended a bilingual charter school in the city.
"We join her family in prayer and affection. Always in our hearts, dear Blanca," Pinoalbar Development School wrote in a post on X.
Garcia traveled to Thailand in December with her boyfriend, who witnessed the incident, from Taiwan where she was enrolled in a student exchange program.
The incident has re-ignited safety and ethical worries about the country's lucrative elephant tourism industry, with the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals saying Garcia's death was just the latest in a series of incidents exposing how risky the business model is.
"Any 'sanctuary' that allows humans to touch, feed, bathe, or closely interact with elephants in any way is no place of refuge for elephants and puts the lives of tourists and animals in critical danger," said PETA senior vice president Jason Baker.
Koh Yao invites tourists visiting the region, just north of Phuket, to "Join Us in Elephant Conservation" with a choice of two packages that allow them to feed, walk and "get closer to elephants," giving them a mud spa, scrubbing and showering them and photo ops. The tier 2 program also offers Thai cooking lessons.
Experts said humans bathing elephants was a highly unnatural practice and far from being enjoyable may actually stress the animals.
An elephant killed a Chinese tour guide and injured two tourists in Pattaya seven years ago. An elephant camp owner and trainer were charged with recklessness causing death and injuries after the incident.
In September 2017, a wild elephant in Khao Yai National Park northeast of Bangkok was photographed repeatedly chasing two joggers down a road after they attempted to take selfies with it.
The incident was the culmination of a series of highway holdups in the park in which elephants blocked the road and ransacked passing vehicles, searching for food.
