Family Seeks Report After Woman Killed by Elephant

Janet Taylor Easton died while participating in a walking safari in South Luangwa National Park on July 3.

 Ms. Easton, also known as Janice, was traveling in Zambia with her 67-year-old cousin, Alison Taylor, a New Zealander who also died 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 that he hoped to receive an independent report on the incident from the Zambian Ministry of Tourism.

 Assistant Coroner Caroline Chandler agreed to adjourn the inquest until the report is available.

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."

Traveled extensively

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

 After this, she traveled extensively, including trips to New Zealand, Canada, and Brazil.

 The court heard that Ms. Easton had traveled to Rwanda to visit a gorilla sanctuary on June 19th before traveling to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, on June 24th.

 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 6:00 a.m. local time and then went 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.