Elephant tramples tourist to death after she went back to pick up her mobile phone

An endangered Sumatran elephant charged a woman who was taking photographs before picking her up with its trunk and trampling her to death at a tourist spot on an Indonesia island.
Veterinarian Octavia Warahapsari had helped to care for two elephants used for tourist treks at the Gajah Mungkur scenic reservoir on the island of Java.

She was forced to run away from one of the animals when it charged as she was taking photos - but she then returned to retrieve her dropped mobile telephone.

The elephant then caught her in its trunk, before picking her up and threw her down to the ground.
The 25-year-old Warahapsari died of severe injuries.

An official at the reservoir, named as Pardiyanto, said the incident happened as Warahapsari was taking pictures in an open area.

'It was tragic,' said Pardiyanto, 'People saw this giant animal trample her but they could not do anything to help her,' he said.

Only about 3,000 Sumatran elephants are believed to remain in the wild.

Experts say they are coming under threat by shrinking habitats and poaching in the region.

The two elephants were brought to the reservoir from a zoo in a neighboring town last month to attract more visitors.

DailyMail reports