Villager badly hurt in wild elephant attack

Villager badly hurt in wild elephant attack

National park officials inspect the scene of an elephant attack near a forest buffer zone in Kui Buri district, Prachuap Khiri Khan late Tuesday night. (Photo by Chaiwat Satyaem)
National park officials inspect the scene of an elephant attack near a forest buffer zone in Kui Buri district, Prachuap Khiri Khan late Tuesday night. (Photo by Chaiwat Satyaem)

PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: A villager guarding a rubber plantation near Kui Buri national park was badly hurt when he was attacked by a wild elephant foraging for food late on Tuesday night.

Park officials rushed to the scene of the attack about 20 metres away from local farmland at Ruam Thai village in tambon Hat Kham. The spot is near a forest buffer zone between farmland and forest areas.

Wannachai Nonthawicha, 32, suffered wounds about 6-7cm long on his forehead and bruising all over his body, and was sent to Kui Buri Hospital.

The injured villager told officials said he was about to suspend a rope to hold bottles as a marker for chasing away wild elephants when a jumbo emerged from the forest. 

Fearful of being attacked, he ran away, but the elephant followed and rammed into him. The impact threw him into a bamboo clump, where thorns penetrated his forehead. After extracting himself, he again ran, and this time the elephant did not follow.

He then sought help from nearby relatives, who alerted park authorities. 

The injured villager was later transferred to Prachuap Khiri Khan Hospital after suffering bleeding in his stomach.

Park officials would inspect the attack scene again today to determine the exact cause of the elephant attack, Thai media reported.

Wannachai Nonthawicha, 32, a resident of Kui Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, is treated at a hospital after being attacked by a wild elephant late on Tuesday night. (Photo by Chaiwat Satyaem)

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (6)