An elderly farmer, whose agricultural field was near the Contour Canal in Udumalpet, assisted the Forest Department in rescuing a member of the team on Saturday.
R. Karthikeyan (60) said on Monday that he lent his dhoti to the Forest Department team to help one of the personnel, who was in the water trying to retrieve the carcass of the elephant.
He was also a witness to forest watcher C. Santhru being washed away on Saturday. Noting that the water current in the canal was high on Saturday, Mr. Karthikeyan said that Santhru jumped into the canal and struggled to swim. “It was sad to see a life being washed away in front of my eyes,” he said.
