COIMBATORE: A 25-year-old wild tusker died after falling into a well in Alandurai near Coimbatore on Thursday morning. The tusker was part of a three-member herd that ventured out of the forest to raid crops in the Sholaipadugai area on Wednesday night.

One of the elephants strayed into a farm owned by Nirmala and attempted to pluck papaya from the tree located near the well. Unexpectedly, the elephant slipped into the well, which had water up to 20 feet.

The forest department rushed to the spot; however, the elephant had drowned by then.

After two long hours of struggle, the carcass of the animal was lifted out by deploying a crane. It was then taken to the forest area in the Kovai Kutralam area and buried after a post-mortem.