KOCHI: An elderly man suffered a rib fracture after a wild elephant attacked two men who went for a morning walk at Mekkappala in Vengoor panchayat near Perumbavoor on Friday.
According to Vengoor panchayat president Silpa Sudheesh, Raghavan, 66, and his friend Eldhose had gone for a morning walk near Mekkapala forest station when a male elephant charged at them. The incident occurred at 6.15 am.
Though Raghavan and Eldhose took to their heels to escape from the charging elephant, Raghavan tripped and fell down.
The elephant hit him with its trunk before returning to the jungle. Raghavan suffered a fracture in four rib bones and has been admitted to a private hospital in Aluva. His condition is stable.
“After seeing the elephant standing on the roadside, we started running. The elephant trumpeted and started chasing us. Raghavan ran in the direction of the forest. When I looked back, the jumbo had disappeared into the forest. Raghavan was lying on the ground. He suffered a rib fracture and has been admitted to the hospital,” said Eldhose.
“Recently, the elephants have been entering the village and destroying crops. But there have not been any incidents of jumbos attacking villagers. We have urged the forest authorities to tackle the elephant menace,” said panchayat member Sreeja Shijo. Residents said a leopard had entered the village and attacked a woman, a year ago.