Six elephants escaped from a zoo parade and roamed around the South Korean capital Seoul on Wednesday before being herded back to their enclosure.
The elephants were on a daily parade outside their enclosure at Seoul Children’s Grand Park when one was apparently startled and bolted, a zoo official said by telephone.
The five others followed “because they have the tendency to do that,” the official said.
The elephants stampeded into the garden of a private home and, while being corralled, three suddenly changed direction and went into a nearby restaurant.
One elephant charged into an alley near an elementary school and hit a woman with its trunk, Yonhap news agency said. She was being treated at a hospital.
"She fell, and I ran away because I was scared," said a man who was standing with the woman when the elephant charged toward them.
During the breakout, one elephant was briefly detained at a police station. And while five were quickly herded back to their enclosure, the sixth took longer to be tracked down.
The elephants escaped due to the "zookeeper's carelessness," police said.
