COIMBATORE: A 50-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in the Nilgiris on Wednesday night.

The deceased, Baskaran, a daily wager from Ambalamoola village in Gudalur was returning home by walking after work, when a wild elephant emerged from the dark. “As it stood along the road side, Baskaran, who was scared of seeing the elephant, tried to flee away. However, the elephant chased and caught him by its trunk and flung him to the ground,” said an official of the forest department.

On hearing his loud cries, the other villagers rushed to his rescue and chased away the elephant into the forest area. They then rushed Baskaran, who sustained critical injuries, to Pandalur GH, however he died on the way. The Ambalamoola police sent the body for a post mortem. A team of forest department staff have begun to monitor the movement of wild elephants to prevent any further incidents. Meanwhile, two kumki’s Chinnathambi and Muthu from Top Slip have been brought to Pollachi to monitor a makhna elephant, which was captured in Dharmapuri and released into Varagaliyar near Top Slip in ATR.