AN escaped circus elephant has killed an 84-year-old man as he played pétanque in the centre of Paris suburb Lizy-sur-Ourcq.
Two-tonne elephant Tanya, part of the menagerie with the Cirque de l’Europe circus that has set up in the Seine-et-Marne town, managed to escape from its enclosure after using a sheet to cover the electric fence.
It had just been put in the enclosure after an afternoon circus performance in Place de la République when it escaped and made for a group of trees in the square.
The man, a pensioner from nearby Changis-sur-Marne, was hit by the elephant’s swinging trunk, which threw him several metres into the air.
He was taken to Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital in Val-de-Marne with chest injuries and a broken leg, but died on Sunday night.
The elephant was recaptured by its trainer, the circus proprietor, and put into a trailer. Gendarmes are now interviewing the circus owner.
Screengrab: www.journallamarne.fr
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