An elephant went on a rampage in Kerala on May 1, killing one person and injuring another. Dramatic footage shows the animal flipping a car and uprooting a tree, besides damaging two-wheelers and other property.
According to a PTI report, the incident unfolded when the captive elephant, brought to a temple at Kidangoor in Angamaly near Kochi, turned violent. It killed the driver of the lorry in which it was transported and seriously injured its primary mahout, an officer of Angamaly police station said.
Elephant goes on rampage
The elephant, Mayyanad Parthasarathy, was brought to a temple in Angamaly from Kollam on Friday, Manorama reported. However, it broke free of its restraints on reaching the Kidangoor Mahavishnu Temple and went on a rampage.
A video shared on social media shows the elephant lifting a Maruti Swift car and banging it on the ground. It attacked the car several times, destroying it completely. The jumbo was also filmed dragging an uprooted tree around,
Elephant’s rampage kills one
The elephant attacked cars and two-wheelers parked near the Kidangoor Mahavishnu Temple in Angamaly on Friday.
{{/usCountry}}The elephant attacked cars and two-wheelers parked near the Kidangoor Mahavishnu Temple in Angamaly on Friday.
{{/usCountry}}The rampage claimed the life of a driver who tried to bring the agitated animal under control. The victim was identified as Vishnu, a native of Kollam. Authorities say that he died on the spot.
The mahout, named Pradeep, was also treated for injuries at a hospital. He is reportedly recovering.
(Also read: No clear trigger in recent Dudhwa elephant attack)
It took several hours to tranquilize and capture the elephant. Personnel from the Elephant Squad of the Forest Department tried to capture the jumbo before it moved out from the temple premises to a more populated area.
Later, around noon, over two hours after the jumbo became violent, it was tranquilised by a veterinarian.
After being darted, the elephant became even more agitated for a brief time and flipped over another vehicle inside the temple premises.
Subsequently, the jumbo calmed down gradually, allowing the Forest Department team to tie ropes to its hind legs and restrain it by tying the elephant to a couple of trees, according to visuals on TV channels.
A person claiming to be associated with the elephant said that the jumbo had in the past participated in the Thrissur Pooram festival and was calm by nature.
"It has not been violent in the past. Something must have triggered it. It is calm now," he told a TV channel.
(With inputs from PTI)