A 79-year-old American woman died in Zambia’s Kafue National Park after an elephant charged at the safari vehicle she was travelling in on March 30, the local authorities said.

Footage circulating on social media purportedly captures the moment when the elephant approached the vehicle, prompting it to slow down, before the animal aggressively flipped it over.

Photos of the car, marked with the tour operator’s logo, show it overturned, with significant damage to its side doors.

The park management was contacted for immediate assistance and a helicopter was sent to the scene.

The family of Ms Gail Mattson confirmed that she lost her life after the elephant attack. She was severely injured during the incident and was taken to a hospital in South Africa, where she later died, said Wilderness, the company operating the safari. Her remains will be repatriated to the United States, officials said.

Four other guests, who had minor injuries, are receiving trauma counselling, while one woman was flown to a private medical facility in South Africa for treatment.

“An aggressive bull elephant charged the vehicle carrying six guests and a guide who were on a game drive from Lufupa Camp,” Wilderness told ABC News on April 3.

Wilderness chief executive Keith Vincent said the vehicle was obstructed by the terrain and unable to move out of the elephant’s path.

The authorities, including the police and the department of national parks and wildlife, are conducting an investigation into the incident.

Mr Vincent said: “This is a tragic event and we extend our deepest condolences to the family of the guest who died.

“We are also, naturally, supporting those guests and the guide involved in this distressing incident.”

Kafue National Park, which spans 22,400 sq km in Western Zambia, is renowned as the country’s largest and oldest national park, and is home to diverse wildlife in its unexplored regions.