Nakhon Si Thammarat: A 43-year-old handler was trampled to death by his elephant after it went berserk while working in a rubber plantation in Phipun district, local officials said yesterday.
The incident took place on Thursday at the rubber plantation in tambon Katoon where Manit, a native of Surat Thani, and his 25-year-old male elephant "Jumbo" were hauling logs.
It took officials and workers about six hours to capture "Jumbo" that ran away into the nearby rubber plantations. The areas were sealed off over safety concerns.
By 9pm, livestock officials had fired tranquiliser darts to sedate the animal and had it lifted onto a six-wheel truck for transportation back to Surat Thani's Wiang Sa district.
According to officials, Manit and "Jumbo" came from Wiang Sa distirct to work in the rubber plantation in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Meanwhile, a wild elephant from Thap Lan National Park wandered onto a rubber plantation Prachin Buri's Na Di district on Thursday and damaged some workers' living quarters as it looked for food.
Kriangsak Hakrasang, a 47-year-old worker, said the elephant suddenly appeared in the plantation and made its way to the worker's hut. It appeared agitated at being shooed away.
Pipat Asa, an assistant village chief and the plantation owner, urged park rangers to push the elephant back to the forest or keep it from wandering too close to residential areas and farms.