Elephant tramples elderly woman to death

Angul: A 74-year-old woman of Analabereni village under Handapa police station was killed by a wild elephant on Saturday. The incident took place when she went to a nearby forest to collect mangoes.

Tension erupted among the villagers who blamed the Forest department for the death of the woman as an elephant herd had been spotted in the forest adjacent to the village.

Forest ranger Narendra Gamango said the wild elephant appeared suddenly and trampled Asha Dehury to death. The others, however, managed to escape. Formalities are underway to pay Rs 6 lakh ex gratia to the family of the deceased, the forest official said. The ranger said efforts are on to drive away the herd from the nearby forest. The incident came after a similar death was reported in the range five months ago. During the mango season, people venture into the forest to collect the fruit and face elephant attacks despite an awareness campaign by the Forest department.