COIMBATORE: A 50-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant on Moyar Road in Masinagudi on Friday morning.

Police said K Manikandan, a daily wager from Masinagudi camp near Gudalur, was going to the bazaar area to have tea around 5.30 am, when a wild elephant wandering in the locality came charging at him. In the attack, he succumbed to injuries on the spot.

On hearing his screams, some villagers rushed to the spot and chased away the elephant by making noise. Officials of the forest department and police sent the body of the deceased for a post mortem at Ooty Government Medical College Hospital for a post mortem.

The irate villagers demanded that the forest department remove the dense vegetation grown along roadsides and residential areas to enhance visibility. The forest department has also stepped up monitoring to prevent further intrusion of wild elephants.