The 59-year-old man was killed on Saturday at one of the busiest gates into the vast park in the east of South Africa, police said.

The man had been trying to get to safety two of his grandchildren, aged five and 11, who were charged by the elephant as they were taking pictures and video of the animal that was inside the park, according to a police statement.

As the children ran from the elephant, they fell. The animal attacked the 11-year-old boy with its trunk, it said.

"It was during this time when the grandfather went to assist ... when the elephant turned and trampled on him before it left them and returned into the Kruger national park premises.

"The police and emergency services personnel were summoned to the scene, and unfortunately, the man had already succumbed to the injuries whilst the boy sustained some injuries in the leg."

The man was a South African citizen, the national parks authority, SANParks, said.

With some 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 square miles) of savannah extending to neighbouring Mozambique, Kruger is the largest game park in South Africa. A presumed poacher was killed by elephants in 2021 in the same park.