7-Year-Old Girl Dies After Elephant at Zoo Throws Rock at Her

A 7-year-old girl died on Tuesday after being hit by a rock thrown by an elephant at Rabat Zoo in Morocco, according to BBC.

The elephant, named Assia, was in an enclosure when she picked up the large stone and managed to throw it over the fence and ditch separating the animal from the crowd. The unidentified girl was reportedly on her father's shoulders at the time. After being hit, she was taken to the hospital and died within a few hours.

The report quotes a statement from the zoo saying, "This kind of accident is rare, unpredictable and unusual." The zoo says the enclosure met international standards.

The statement also noted that accidents like this happen all around the world, specifically calling out the recent tragedy at Walt Disney World, where a 2-year-old was killed by an alligator, as well as the event at the Cincinnati Zoo, where a boy fell into the gorilla enclosure.

Videos claiming to be shot right after the incident were uploaded to YouTube, showing the elephant roaming around the enclosure, a rock laying on the ground on the other side of the fence and a crowd gathered nearby.

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This is the first accident to happen at the zoo since it opened in 2012.

​Via