A wild elephant trampled to death a tea-estate worker at Chenduvarai in Munnar on Tuesday night.
The incident occurred around 6.30 p.m. inside a eucalyptus plantation near the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP) factory. Palanisami, 52, a resident of Chenduvarai estate, was returning home after work when the elephant attacked him, said Munnar Range Officer Hareernda Kumar. Palanisami is thought not to have sensed the presence of the elephant owing to fog and gone close to the elephant that stood on the way.
The local people who heard the trumpet of the elephant saw it attack the man and they informed the forest officials. A Rapid Response Team (RRT) chased away the animal into the nearby forests. Palanisami died on the spot. The body was handed over to relatives after a post-mortem examination at the Adimali taluk hospital, said the official.
