An Australian man thought to have been killed by an elephant has been confirmed by an African tourism ministry as an “Austrian”.
The Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism reported on Thursday (local time) that a 59-year-old Australian male tourist had died while camping at the Huab River in the Kunene region.
The Ministry later confirmed on Friday that the man was Austrian and expressed its “sincere” condolences to the bereaved family and friends of the deceased in a statement posted to Facebook.
[iframe src=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmetnamibia%2Fposts%2F2419775204904946&width=500″ width=”500″ height=”297″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ allowTransparency=”true” allow=”encrypted-media”]
“Sadly today the Ministry received a report that a tourist was killed by an elephant. The Ministry has since confirmed that a 59 years old Austrian National man was killed in the Huab river, Kunene region where a group of tourists were camping, this morning,” it said.
“This is a very unfortunate incident and highly regrettable. It has thus far been established that the area in which the group of tourists were camping is not a designated camping site.”
No further details of the cause of the man’s death were revealed, but the Ministry said a combined investigation between it and Namibian police was ongoing and that it was working to establish whether the tourists were guided by a tour guide.
“The Ministry wishes to reiterate our call to our very welcome tourists to always be cautious and adhere to the rules and regulations put in place for their safety.”
Initially, Namibia’s tourism ministry reported that an Australian tourist had been killed. The Ministry has not explained why the nationality of the deceased was changed, but it is thought to have been an unfortunate typo, later rectified.
Travel Weekly has contacted the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs for comment.
