COIMBATORE: A 51-year-old woman, who was attacked by a wild elephant near Coimbatore on Thursday, succumbed to injuries despite treatment on Friday.
According to the forest department, Rathna (51), wife of Jayabalan from Indira Colony near Narasipuram in Boluvampatti Forest Range, had gone to attend nature's call near a thicket, when a wild elephant emerged and attacked her.
As she fainted, the elephant moved away from the spot. On receiving information from villagers, a team of forest department staff rushed to the spot and sent the woman to Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for treatment.
The attack happened when the forest department was attempting to drive the elephant back into the forest area after it strayed into a nearby residential neighbourhood. While retreating into the forest area, the elephant charged at the woman.
With this, three people had lost their lives to elephant attack within a week, as a 65-year-old woman was trampled to death by an elephant in Pandalur in the Nilgiris on 22 July, while a 58-year-old farmer was killed on 20 July in Erode.
Meanwhile, villagers from Gudalur, led by AIADMK MLA Pon Jayaseelan, met Nilgiris District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru, demanding concrete measures be taken to prevent the intrusion of wild elephants into their residential neighbourhoods. They claimed that despite driving operations being carried out by the forest department, the elephants frequently stray into their locality to damage houses and destroy farm crops.