PRACHIN BURI: An operation was launched on Sunday to remove the carcasses of six wild elephants found on Saturday after falling from the top of Haew Narok waterfall in Khao Yai National Park and drowning, an official said. As of 8pm Thai time, the operation was yet to be successful.
Park officials discovered on Saturday morning that six wild elephants had drowned after the fall. They managed to help two other members of the herd which were struggling to clamber out of the waterfall at about 3.30pm.
Wichai Pornleesaengsuwan, director of the national park section of the Prachin Buri-based Conservation Administration Office, said the two elephants later rested at a spot near the waterfall. They were in satisfactory condition after the park officials gave them banana, sugarcane, pineapple and some antibiotics.
At about 3am on Sunday, the two elephants were found to have disappeared, Mr Wichai said. They were believed to have returned to the woods safely.
Later on Sunday, a drone was launched to track the two elephants in the forest.
Mr Wichai said a team of park officials had been deployed to track the two elephants to confirm they had made it back into the wild.
Meanwhile, another team of officials were to travel by boat on Sunday morning from the Khun Dan Prakanchon Dam in Nakhon Nayok province along Khlong Ton Thai canal into the park. They would then proceed on foot to the waterfall. On their arrival, an operation would begin to remove the six dead elephants from the waterfall, he said.