'Game of Thrones' Editor Killed By South African Lion on Vacation

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A woman was mauled to death by a lion while on vacation in South Africa. She was identified as Katherine Chappell, a visual effects editor who worked on "Game of Thrones" and other projects.

Chappell, 29, was fatally wounded by a lion's bite on her neck. She died as a result of her injuries and a heart attack before that paramedics arrived.

She was attacked through the open window of the vehicle while she was taking pictures of the lions during a wildlife tour at Johannesburg's Lion Park, CNN reports.

Guests are prohibited from opening the vehicle's windows while out in the safari, according to tour operators.

"That's absolutely forbidden at our park," Scott Simpson, Lion Park's assistant operations manager, said. "There are numerous signs, and we hand out slips of paper to all guests warning them to keep their windows closed."

Chappell was part of one of the tours organized by Kalabash Tours and led by Pierre Potgieter, owner and guide of the expedition company. Potgieter has since denied driving around the safari with open windows.

"Mr. Potgieter strongly denies that they were driving around the lion enclosures with open windows," part of the statement read, according to ABC News.

It is suggested that Chappell lowered the window on her own to take pictures with her camera as they "stopped to view a pride of lions."

While the lion mauled Chappell and caused her serious injuries, Potgieter tried his best to stop the bleeding and had called for help.

There was apparently an employee from the park who left the scene after refusing them help.

"The employee appeared reluctant to do this, and left Mr Potgieter and the victim in the vehicle. The ambulance only arrived some time thereafter. For Mr Potgieter this felt like a very long time," the statement said.

Potgieter, 66, was hospitalized after sustaining serious arm injuries.

Chappell travelled to South Africa as a wildlife volunteer for two weeks. She was said to have grown up in the New York suburbs but spent the past few months in Vancouver for her work as a visual effects editor for Scanline VFX.

The Daily Mail reported that a moving tribute was posted by Katherine's sister, Jen, on Facebook.

"Katie was a brilliant, kind, adventurous and high-spirited woman. Her energy and passion could not be contained by mere continents or oceans. She was very much loved and shared her love for life with those she met," her sister wrote. "We cannot thank everyone enough for the kind words and support. It means the world to us during this difficult time."

In addition to working for "Game of Thrones," she worked on other movies including "Divergent," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," and "Godzilla," according to CTV News.