The first of an eight-day safari tour was a near tragedy for these safari tourists, whose car was overturned by a charging elephant from a herd breeding nearby.

Recently emerged footage shows the moment the elephant made a run for the vehicle, followed by a rattling of the car as the camera shook.

"Our guide started the engine a second before the impact but it was too late," the uploader told Newsflare. "The tusks of the elephant only missed my body by a few centimetres."

One of the tourists suffered two broken vertebrae and a large cut on her forehead. Luckily, the elephant retreated after the car was flipped over.

The video was filmed in August 2015.