COIMBATORE: A 21-year-old youth was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Gudalur on Thursday night, a third killing in the Nilgiris within a week’s time, sending a scare among the locals.
The trampling happened even as a team of frontline staff of the forest department was busy driving away two wild elephants attempting to enter a village in ‘O’ Valley panchayat in Gudalur around 10.45 pm. One of the elephants entered the bazaar area and began to charge on a group of people. As they took to their heels, the elephant chased and attacked Prasanth (21) from the same neighbourhood. The forest department officials and villagers managed to chase away the elephant and sent the youth to Gudalur Government Hospital. He was then referred to Ooty Government Hospital, where Prasanth died without responding to treatment.
This incident comes a week after two persons in Masinagudi and Devar Sholai lost their lives in an elephant attack last week. Anticipating a protest by villagers, police personnel were deployed in the locality as a precaution.
According to sources, 12 persons died in attacks by wild animals including elephants, leopard and tiger in 2022 and 12 persons in 2023, while four persons have lost their lives so far in 2024, in the Nilgiris.