Elephant tramples family to death during rampage

An elephant went on a wild rampage in India on Friday, trampling four people to death — including a 12-year-old girl as she slept inside her home, according to reports.

The girl was sleeping in the veranda of her house in Ganeshapuram, Coimbatore, when the massive male pachyderm — which had recently strayed into encroaching human habitation from nearby Madukkarai forests — barged inside around 3:30 a.m., killing her, The Hindu reported.

“The elephant first entered a house and attacked a family that was asleep. It lifted a 12-year girl with its trunk and flung her to the ground, causing her to die on the spot,” district official S Madhuranthangi told the Australian Associated Press.

The girl’s father, Vijayakumar, also suffered a hand fracture, the Hindu reported.

The mammal then strayed into a residential area on the outskirts of the city of Coimbatore, where it claimed three more victims, according to the Australian Associated Press.

“It trampled two women and a 70-year-old man to death in separate attacks later,” a witness said.
The women had been relieving themselves in an open field before the fatal stampede, NDTV reported.

Two other people were injured during the attack and have been hospitalized, The Hindustan reported.
Forest department officials told the news site that they are attempting to drive the elephant back into the forest by bringing in kumkis — or tamed elephants — and trying to tranquilize it.

Data from India’s environment ministry reveals that 391 people and 39 elephants died across the country from 2014-15, as a result of conflicts between humans and the animals, the site reported.

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