Assam woman trampled to death by herd of elephants

IANS Photo

Guwahati, February 1 (IANS) A 31-year-old woman was trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants in Assam’s Chirang district, officials said on Thursday.

The woman, identified as Jonali Kalita, and her husband had gone to the Manas National Park's perimeter to gather wood when they unintentionally stumbled upon a herd of elephants on Wednesday night, according to park officials.

The officials said that Kalita was trampled to death, but her husband was able to flee.

A group of forest guards arrived and discovered her body. Police also arrived on the scene and took possession of the body.

According to police, the body was given to the family after being taken to the district government hospital for a post-mortem examination.

In the last year, Assam forest officials, among other people, have lost their lives to elephant attacks. Forest officials stated that there have been instances where wild elephants who have ventured outside of forest regions in quest of food, have attacked people. As a precaution, people who live close to forested regions occasionally erect electrical fences, which has also resulted in the deaths of a few elephants.