A seven-year-old girl has died in a freak accident at a zoo in Morocco when an elephant threw a rock that struck the child in the head, the zoo has confirmed.
The accident occurred as the girl posed for a photograph with her family beside the elephant enclosure at the zoo in Rabat, Morocco's capital, on Tuesday afternoon, local time.
The girl's father had reportedly lifted her onto his shoulders when the elephant picked up a large rock - estimated about half the size of a brick - and tossed it into the air with its trunk.
The rock hit the girl on the back of the head and knocked her unconscious.
She was taken to hospital, but died within a few hours, the zoo said in a statement.
The zoo said the enclosure, which housed three elephants, was separated from the public viewing area by a fence and a ditch, but the rock was thrown high enough to pass over the fence.
The elephant enclosure met international standards, the zoo said, adding that "this kind of accident is rare, unpredictable and unusual".
The zoo's staff expressed their condolences to the family of the girl.
A witness filmed the moments after the rock struck the girl, and uploaded the footage to YouTube.
The video shows the elephant waving its trunk behind a fence, as well as a large rock on the ground near the girl.
A number of people are also shown gathered around the girl, holding her head and stroking her leg.
