Thai gov't urged to probe death of tour guide killed by rampaging elephant

China on Sunday urged the Thai government to investigate an incident in which a Chinese tour guide was trampled to death by an enraged elephant at the Golden Triangle Elephant Park in Chon Buri as he tried to protect other tourists.

Under the instruction of the China National Tourism Administration, China's tourist office in Bangkok asked Thai authorities to determine the truth as soon as possible. The office also urged the Thai travel agencies involved and the park to compensate the victim's family.

The family members of the victim, He Yongjie, 34, from Chongqing Beiguo Holiday travel agency, have arrived in Thailand with the help of the Chinese embassy, Chongqing Morning Post reported.

He was bringing his group around the park on Thursday afternoon when an elephant suddenly rushed into a crowd and started attacking tourists.

He was trampled to death as he attempted to protect the tourists by running in front of the elephant. The accident left two tourists injured and one badly wounded. Their conditions are said to be stable.

Au Bamrung, an elephant trainer, said two foreigners had been riding on the elephant around the orchard under his supervision. As they passed some tourists, one of them pulled the elephant's tail, making him angry, the Bangkok Post reported.

However, some of the tourists in He's group told news site thecover.cn that nobody pulled the elephant's tail, and that it got angry suddenly, claiming He was trampled while trying to save an elderly woman. They also said that park employees did not appear for more than half an hour and none of them helped He as he attempted to protect the tourists.