S.African film-maker killed by giraffe

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A South African film-maker was killed by a giraffe while filming on a reserve outside Johannesburg, the game lodge’s owner has said, adding that he died after being air-lifted to hospital.

The giraffe hit Carlos Carvalho in the head at the Glen Afric Country Lodge in North West province.

“When Carlos was standing in front of the giraffe, the animal spread its legs, bent its neck and swung its head at Carlos,” Richard Brooker, whose family owns the lodge, told the Netwerk24 Afrikaans news website.

The giraffe, called Gerald, “did nothing wrong,” Brooker said.

Callacrew, a South African film production agency, said Carvalho died on Wednesday night.

“It is with a very sad heart that we have to announce the passing of Carlos Carvalho, one of our favourite DOPs (director of photography),” it said on its Facebook page.

“Carlos was filming a feature at Glen Afric and had a fatal run in with a giraffe on set.”

Carvalho, a 47-year-old father-of-two, was reported to have been looking through the camera eyepiece to take close-up images of the giraffe when the incident occurred.