Elephant brought to Kerala temple turns violent; one killed, mahout injured

Kochi: A captive elephant brought to a temple at Kidangoor in Angamaly here turned violent on Friday, attacking and injuring a couple of persons, with one of them dying in the incident, police said.

Visuals of the incident aired on TV channels showed the jumbo attacking the vehicles parked near the temple.

It flipped over a car several times, completely destroying it, and also damaged a few two-wheelers present there, even as an Elephant Squad of the Forest Department tried to capture the jumbo before it moved out from the temple premises to a more populated area, police said.

An officer of Angamali police station said that a lorry driver was killed and the main mahout of the elephant was seriously injured in the attack.

"The elephant continues to be violent and the Elephant Squad is trying to capture it. Besides that, a veterinarian is also here to tranquilising the jumbo, if required," he said.