An elderly husband and wife couple believed to have been killed by a sheep on their rural farm have been named.
Helge and Gaye Hansen, both in their 80s, were found dead on Thursday morning on their Anzac Valley Road property in Waitakere, New Zealand, where they raised sheep, chickens and cattle.
Police confirmed that “there was a battering ram in the meadow when we were notified of the deaths at 7.30am (Thursday).”
‘Another of those present at the scene suffered minor injuries after being attacked by this battering ram.
‘Once our personnel arrived at the scene, they too were confronted and approached by the battering ram. While carrying out a risk assessment, the ram was shot and died at the scene.
Police officers are shown carrying evidence bags at the property where a retired couple was found dead.
The attack shocked the family members, and the police who came to the scene and had to deal with the beast.
Police said they were “continuing to investigate on behalf of the coroner, to establish the full set of circumstances surrounding what happened in the meadow.”
“As part of this process, post-mortem examinations will be carried out (on Friday).”
Examination of the scene at the Anzac Valley Road property was completed on Thursday.
The Hansens were found dead by their son, who had gone to see his parents after not hearing from them.
It is understood Mr Hansen had gone to check the ram but never returned. Later, his wife went to see her husband, but she did not return home either.
Dean Burrell, nephew and family spokesman, told the news outlet Stuff the couple had “lost their lives in a tragic accident.”
‘They are good people. They are over 80 years old. “They don’t deserve this,” he stated.
‘Everyone is shocked by what has happened. They are very upset.’
Burrell said the couple had not contacted their family for a couple of days.
‘Everyone is shocked by what happened. They are very upset. I actually feel like I was dreaming it… when they told me what had happened and I just didn’t believe it.’
Mr. Burrell’s father had called him to tell him the news.
“That’s why I came here to support my cousins and the whole family,” he said.
St John’s medics attended the property with two ambulances early on Thursday, with a large police presence at the scene throughout the day.
A neighbor who has known the elderly couple for many years and asked not to be identified, described them as a “very quiet couple,” New Zealand Herald reported.
Police are seen at the home of a couple who were reportedly killed by a ram on their property
Dean Burrell’s aunt and uncle (pictured) were killed by a ram on a rural New Zealand property.
The neighbor said the man who lived on the property had farmed his entire life and “was a very good rancher.”
Animal behaviorist Mark Vette, who has more than 50 years of experience working with animals, said rams have been known to attack, but it was rare for anyone to die.
‘Most people who have farmed at some point would have had a ram that you have to be careful with. If you turn your back on them, sometimes they’ll attack you a little bit,” he said. news center.
‘It would be a very rare occasion for a battering ram to hurt someone at that level, but what is usually common is that they can knock you down and hurt you.
St John’s medics attended the property with two ambulances early on Thursday, with a large police presence throughout the day.
“If you get slammed into a wall or something and hit hard with your head, it could definitely cause serious injuries.” “They are really powerful animals, so taking three or four charges would be significant.”
He said it was possible to get “rogue rams” that had not been socialized with humans or had a buildup of testosterone.
Vette said the rams could cause serious damage even if they did not appear to have horns, as the base of the horns were still there.
He said being cornered by a battering ram would cause a big problem for people who were not physically capable of jumping a fence or running away.