Mahout dies as elephant falls on him

A mahout was killed after a cow elephant, which was attacked by a tusker, fell on him during a temple festival near Cherthala in Alleppey district yesterday.

The panic-stricken cow elephant then ran around the temple for an hour and uprooted a couple of coconut trees before she was contained by experts who fired tranquilliser shots.

The two elephants were lined up for the ritual procession at Visakhapuram temple at Thirunettur near Cherthala.

While the procession was on, however, tusker Kesavan turned violent and attacked jumbo Remani, who fell on the mahout.

The mahout, identified by police as Mathai alias Unni, died en route to the hospital.

The incident disrupted the festival with the scared crowd fleeing the spot.

Experts, including a veterinarian, were summoned from Kochi to bring to heel the panic-stricken elephant.