Rescued Elephants Run Amok, Kill Saviour in Sri Lanka

Thaindian.com
October 4th, 2008

Colombo, Oct 4 (IANS) An elephant that had fallen into a jungle well with her calf and was rescued by villagers in Anuradhapura district of Sri Lanka ran amok and killed one of the saviours in the presence of helpless police and wildlife authorities.The incident occurred Friday at Kirirawa village in the north-central district of Anuradhapura, about 200 km from here.
“As they came out of the well, the elephants started chasing the villagers. The baby jumbo calmed down in a short while, but the cow elephant kept chasing a group of villagers and trampled one of them to death,” A. Bandara, a local reporter in Anuradhapura, told IANS over the phone.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ranjith Gunasekara said a police team along with wildlife authorities rushed to the scene and helped the villagers rescue the elephants from the well.

However, he said it was unfortunate that the police team could not rescue the villager who was trampled by the cow elephant.

The situation turned ugly when angry villagers attacked the police team for not killing the elephant and saving the life of the villager.

“A police sergeant assaulted by the villagers was admitted to the hospital. We have arrested a villager for assaulting policemen,” Gunasekara said.

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