COIMBATORE: A woman in her seventies was trampled to death by a wild elephant in front of her neighbour’s house near Sholayar Dam in Valparai in the early hours of Thursday.
Her neighbour, also in her seventies, sustained injuries while trying to escape from the elephant.
The deceased has been identified as T Mary, aged 77.
The injured woman, D Deivanai, aged 75, is undergoing treatment at Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) after being referred from the government hospitals in Valparai and Pollachi.
Deivanai lived on the left side of the Sholayar Dam, in the Manombolly range of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. Mary, the deceased, used to stay at her house during the night.
According to forest officials, the elephant had reached into the kitchen through a window using its trunk. When Mary noticed it, she rushed out of the house and accidentally fell at the animal’s feet, where she was trampled to death.
Deivanai, who was near the animal at the time, injured herself when she fell down in fear.
“We are sure that the elephant trampled her to death, and we are tracking whether a male or female attacked her,” said a forest range official.
“We suspect that the wild elephant might have visited the house after being attracted by the smell of rice or fruits. We will deploy the staff to prevent animals entering into the human habitations on Thursday night,” the official added.
Sources in CMCH said that the condition of Deivanai is stable and she will be in observation for a few days.