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Park boss and wife injured in buffalo attack

Durban - An emergency rescue helicopter airlifted the iSimangaliso Wetland Park chief executive Andrew Zaloumis and his wife Tracey from the park north of St Lucia on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, after they were injured in an encounter with a buffalo on Thursday.

Robert McKenzie of the province’s Emergency Rescue Service (EMS) said the helicopter had been dispatched before midday to fetch a man and a woman, whom he did not name.

Zaloumis’s phone was answered by a woman who did not provide her name.

She said she was not with Zaloumis, but the injuries sustained by the couple were not serious.

“Tracey [Zaloumis’s wife] has already been discharged. We do not like to use the word attack. They are fine and we thank you for your concern. We will release a statement shortly.”

McKenzie said the EMS helicopter had taken the two to Ngwelezana Hospital.

“The incident took place about 10km north of St Lucia on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, in an area known as Mission Rock. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health’s EMS helicopter was dispatched to the scene, due to difficult access by land.”

iSimangaliso Wetland Park spokesperson Siyabonga Mhlongo confirmed there was an incident, but he too could not confirm details.

“We received a call from someone walking in the park. Our people are out in the field and reception is bad. I cannot tell you exactly what happened.”

He said he would release further details as soon as they became available. He could not confirm the attack even involved a buffalo.

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