Pregnant woman, 33, & unborn baby crushed to death by 15 elephants as mum-to-be desperately tried to scare herd off
A PREGNANT woman and her unborn child have been crushed to death by a herd of elephants in Indonesia.
Karsini, 33, was with her husband Rasum tapping rubber trees in South Sumatra, when a herd of about 15 jumbos wandered onto their plantation.
The mum-of-three, who was five months into her pregnancy, made a frantic attempt to frighten off the beasts, which may weigh up to 4,000 kg, by pounding empty jerrycans together like cymbals.
But the elephants – probably terrified or angry due to the banging – charged at the couple and viciously trampled Karsini and her unborn baby to death.
Locals at the Musi Rawas Regency retrieved Karsini’s body from the jungle after the herd moved away on Sunday.
Muara Lakitan Police Chief, AKP M Abdul Karim, said: “It is known that the victim was five months pregnant.
“She suffered severe wounds on her stomach and waist, and her womb had shifted to the left.
“Her husband managed to save himself.”
He mentioned that herds of up to 100 wild elephants were known to visit the area and that investigators from the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) were on the scene.
Rather of trying to scare away wandering elephants, the police head advised the locals to avoid them.
He said: “Don’t disturb them, don’t try to chase them away.
“They are only looking for food. If you see an elephant, immediately move away.”
It comes after a tourist was tragically crushed to death by an elephant in front of his screaming fiancee in South Africa after getting out of his car to take photos.
He was horrifically killed by an angry herd of elephants in a nature reserve after wanting close-up photos of them on July 7.
Officials have confirmed the dead man, 43, was cleaning firm boss Carlos Luna from the town of Ejea de los Caballeros in northern Spain.
Mr Luna is reportedly got out of his car to take photos of the elephants in Pilanesberg National Park before they trampled him.
A Spanish consul in South Africa was today said to be heading to capital Pretoria to help with the repatriation of his body.
Police told local media the dead man, his fiancee and two other women were driving through the reserve when they stopped after spotting three elephants and two cubs.
The other occupants of the car were unharmed but an investigation is ongoing.
A former colleague of Mr Luna, quoted in a local newspaper, described him as a “good worker and a nice man.”
He added: “He liked motorbikes and going out on his mountain bike.”
Spanish safari agency boss Alex Lacadena told the paper he had been informed the attack happened because the matriarch elephant felt threatened when they were approached.