Family of woman killed by elephant call for report

The incident occurred at South Luangwa National Park

The family of a woman killed by an elephant while on safari in Zambia has called for an independent report into circumstances around her death.

Janet Taylor Easton died while taking part in the walking safari in South Luangwa National Park on 3 July.

Ms Easton, who was also known as Janice, was travelling in Zambia with her cousin Alison Taylor, 67, from New Zealand, who was also killed in the incident.

At an inquest at Bradford Coroner's Court on Wednesday, Ms Easton's brother William said he was "deeply disappointed" that the Zambian authorities had not responded to a request for evidence and comments.

He said: "Nothing is going to change the matter that Janice is no longer with us but the family is concerned that lessons should be learned so that other families don't have to go through this."

Ms Easton's cousin Bill Taylor told the court he was expecting an independent report into the incident from the Zambian Ministry of Tourism.

Assistant coroner Caroline Chandler agreed to adjourn the inquiry until the report had been produced.

She told the family: "I have no jurisdiction in Zambia. A walking safari does entail risks. The risk that unfortunately unfolded on 3 July is very rare.

"The circumstances of the death are very clear in relation to what tragically happened but I understand you feel there's differing accounts and no independent report."

Travelled extensively

Ms Easton, 68, taught chemistry at Titus Salt School in Baildon, Bradford, from September 1983 until retiring in August 2022.

She then travelled extensively, including trips to New Zealand, Canada and Brazil.

The court heard Ms Easton flew to Rwanda on 19 June to visit a gorilla sanctuary before travelling to Zambia's capital Lusaka on 24 June.

According to a statement prepared by travel company Expert Africa and read by Ms Chandler, on the day of her death Ms Easton left Big Lagoon Camp at 06:00 local time before heading on a safari walk led by a guide and tracker.

It said: "The group walked 300m from camp when they spotted an adult elephant and child. The elephant seemed calm, was feeding on fruit and showed no signs of distress.

"The guide adjusted the group's walk to avoid the elephants smelling them on the wind. A short while later the group continued now that they were at a safe distance.

"From his position at the back of the group, the tracker saw the elephant charge from the side about 15m away. He immediately shot a warning shot but the elephant continued."

A death certificate in Zambia concluded Ms Easton had died from blunt trauma to the chest, while a post-mortem in the UK gave the cause of death as traumatic thoracic injuries.

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