Two people were killed in separate elephant rampage incidents at temple festival sites in Kerala on Friday, May 1. The tragic events took place at the Kidangoor Sree Mahavishnu Temple in Angamaly and the Koodal manikyam Temple in Irinjalakuda. A lorry driver and a mahout died, raising new safety concerns.
Two Men Killed in Kerala
The first incident occurred at the KidangoorSreeMahavishnu Temple near Angamaly in the Ernakulam district during the routine morning activities after festival duties. The elephant named MayyanadParthasarathy became violent while being taken for watering at around 9:15 AM.
Two elephants attack
The elephant grabbed Vishnu, a lorry driver from Kollam, Kerala who had brought the elephant to the site, with its trunk. It trampled him and gored him, causing his immediate death. The primary mahout, Pradeep, was seriously injured while trying to intervene. He is currently in the intensive care unit at a local hospital.
The agitated animal also destroyed a car by flipping it several times and damaged several two-wheelers in the temple area. After nearly four hours of chaos, an Elephant Squad from the Forest Department successfully tranquilized the elephant around noon.
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