A mahout was killed near Karappuzha around 9.30 a.m. on Sunday after he was trapped under an elephant.
The deceased, Arun Panikkar, 40, of Chennithala in Alappuzha, was giving the elephant a bath when he lost balance and fell down. The animal, unaware of it, lay down on the mahout.
CCTV footage showed the deceased getting trapped under the pachyderm after losing his balance and falling on the floor.
Sources said the mahout fell while swinging his hook to make the elephant, Bharat Viswanathan, lie down on the floor. “He was standing on the left side of the elephant and instructed it to lie down to that side. But the animal initially lay down onto the other side and then suddenly changed to the left,” they said.
On witnessing the accident, another mahout ran to the spot and tried to pull Arun out. By the time he managed to get the elephant stand on its feet, Arun had sustained serious injuries. He was declared brought dead at a hospital. The police have launched a probe.
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