FOUR
KILLED AS WILD ELEPHANT GOES ON RAMPAGE IN INDIA
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fficials
say four people including a teenager and two women were killed when a wild
elephant ran amok in southern India early Friday.
District
official S. Madhuranthangi said that the elephant strayed into a residential
area on the outskirts of the Coimbatore city from a nearby forest and carried
out three attacks, sending residents into a state of panic.
Madhuranthangi
said: “the elephant first entered a house and attacked a family that was
asleep. It lifted a twelve-year girl with its trunk and flung her to the
ground, causing her to die on the spot.
“It trampled
two women and a 70-year-old man to death in separate attacks later.”
She said Five
more people injured in the attacks were admitted to hospitals in Coimbatore,
where the condition of two wounded was said to be serious.
Hundreds
gathered in the area as wildlife and police teams attempted to tranquilise the
animal to arrange for its return to the forest.
“The elephant
has gone astray and has been wreaking havoc in the region. … It attacked a
government food rations store earlier on Thursday.
“We have warned
residents not to venture out from their homes, but there is a lot of commotion
around,” the official said.
Attacks by wild
elephants are common in India and government reports say more than 300 people
are killed each year by elephants.
Park
deforestation, poaching and encroachment by villagers are boxing in the
country’s estimated 27,000 to 31,000 wild elephants and causing them to stray
from their habitat and reserves. READ MORE
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