Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News 

A pregnant woman who was walking to a maternity clinic has been killed by a buffalo which reportedly removed her unborn child out of her womb.

Local media report the 39-year-old woman, named in reports as Alice Msimuko was walking with an unnamed companion when they encountered the wounded African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Chifunda area of Chama District in Zambia’s Muchinga Province.

Msimuko was reportedly eight months pregnant and reportedly could not run away from the animal when it charged and provincial Police Commissioner Joel Njase said: “she was attacked and killed”.

Njase added that “the buffalo removed the baby from her stomach, it was a girl and it also died”.

Local District Commissioner Leonard Ngoma told reporters that incidents of humans and animals becoming involved in conflict is on the rise in the area.

He appealed to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife to help local residents to prevent the situation from becoming worse.

The unnamed friend reportedly managed to run away.

It is unclear how the buffalo became wounded and it reportedly fled the scene after the attack.

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