Woman tourist at Dubare camp caught between fighting elephants, crushed to death

The woman, from Tamil Nadu's Pallavaram was visiting the camp with her husband and three-year-old daughter when the two bull elephants got into a fight all of a sudden.

A videograb shows the elephants crushing the woman tourist in Dubare, while her husband and child watch the nightmare unfold before their eyes.  Photo| Special arrangement

MADIKERI: A tourist from Tamil Nadu was crushed to death after she was caught in a fight between two bull elephants at the Dubare Elephant Camp in Kushalnagar, Kodagu, on Monday. Juneshe S (33), the victim, had come from Pallavaram in Chennai with her husband and three-year-old daughter to visit the camp.

Hundreds of tourists visit the Dubare Elephant Camp every day to experience the bathing of the tamed elephants. At around 11.15 am on Monday, several tourists had gathered at the spot where mahouts were bathing the elephants in the Cauvery. However, two bull elephants got into a fight all of a sudden. Dasara elephant, Kanjan overpowered Marthanda, who fell into the river. During this fight, tourists started running helter-skelter even as the Tamil Nadu couple and their child got caught between the fighting elephants.

While the husband Joel rescued his daughter, Jersey, his wife, Juneshe, was caught between the two elephants and was crushed by Marthanda. She suffered severe injuries and died while being shifted to hospital. The body of the victim was handed over to the family after postmortem. Siddapura police registered a case.

Madikeri Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Abhishek said the elephants started fighting suddenly and this was common among them, mostly when they are in musth. While mahouts tried to control the situation, the accident could not be avoided. The DCF said that the victim’s family will receive a compensation of Rs 20 lakh from the forest department.

The DCF said the Dubare Elephant Camp will be closed for tourists for two days. He added that the Makhna elephant, Marthanda, was injured in the fight and is being treated by wildlife experts at Dubare.

Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre expressed his condolences to the victim’s family and instructed tourists not touch or feed the tamed elephants. He has instructed the officials to ensure that tourists watch the tamed elephants only from a safe distance to avoid such incidents in future.

The public have urged the forest department to control the number of tourists visiting Dubare. They say touching the animals and clicking photos will affect their behaviour.