A seven-year-old school girl recently died at a zoo in Morocco after being struck on the head by a huge rock hurled at her by an elephant. The girl's dad had lifted her up on his shoulders outside the elephant enclosure so her mum could take a snap of the two of them with their back to the animals when she was struck. 

The female elephant, named Assia, picked up a large stone in its trunk, threw it into the air and it hit the little girl on the back of her head. She was knocked unconscious and later died in a nearby hospital after failing to overcome her injuries.

A zoo spokesman offered his condolences to the girl's family but said there had been no security breaches and she had not crossed into a protective area outside the enclosure. He said, "Accidents of this type are rare, unforeseeable and unusual."