West Bengal: Seven tourists hurt, two critical after safari jeep falls into pit while trying to escape rhino attack

Seven tourists were injured during a safari ride when two rhinos came charging towards the safari jeep at Jaldapara National Park in Alipurduar district in North Bengal on February 25.

Two rhinoceroses came charging towards the safari jeep, from where tourists were enjoying the view. Following the attack, the driver of the jeep tried to escape from the scene but the vehicle skidded and fell into a tunnel adjacent to the road passing through the jungle.

When the safari jeep arrived at the location and stopped there, eyewitnesses said that the two rhinoceroses got into a fight in the bushes next to the road.

The jeep caught the attention of the few tourists who were taking pictures and videos of the fighting animals.

The nearby Madarihat health center received all of the injured tourists right away. Two of them have apparently been transferred to the Alipurduar district hospital as their condition appears to be critical.

According to a representative of the forest department, there have never been any reports of rhinos charging toward tourist vehicles in the Jaldapara national park. Kamal Gazi, the jeep's driver, who sustained minor injuries, claimed that in his long career, he had never encountered a situation like this. “Fortunately, no one has been killed. Things could have been worse,” Gazi said.

Also read : Bihar government mulling plans to increase population of one-horned rhinos by 3 per cent annually