A 22-year-old Spanish tourist tragically lost her life during an elephant bathing activity at a sanctuary in Thailand. The incident took place at Koh Yao Elephant Care on Yao Yai Island. The victim, Blanca Ojanguren García, was struck by a 50-year-old female elephant’s trunk, resulting in severe injuries.
García, a law and international relations student at the University of Navarra in Spain, was immediately transported to a nearby hospital. Despite the medical team’s best efforts, García’s injuries proved fatal. She was on vacation with her boyfriend, who was one of eight tourists at the sanctuary during the incident. The remaining tourists and approximately ten sanctuary workers were unharmed.
Initial reports suggested that García was gored by the elephant’s tusk. However, later reports from a Spanish news outlet contradicted this, stating that the fatal blow was delivered by the elephant’s trunk.
In the wake of the incident, the sanctuary, which houses three elephants, has temporarily ceased operations. The owner has not yet announced a reopening date. García, who hailed from a military family, had recently completed her professional internships at Spain’s navy headquarters in Madrid. Her remains have been moved to another hospital on the island of Phuket for preparation before being returned to Spain.
Elephant interactions are a popular tourist attraction in Thailand. This incident is the first fatal elephant attack of 2025. Over the past 12 years, there have been approximately 240 fatal incidents involving elephants, including 39 in the previous year alone. Just last month, a 49-year-old woman was fatally attacked by a wild elephant at Phu Kradueng National Park.
According to World Animal Protection, about 2,800 Asian elephants, an endangered species, are held in captivity at various tourism facilities across Thailand. The country is home to 15% of the estimated 52,000 elephants still living in the wild.