COIMBATORE: A 40-year-old woman was killed by a wild elephant while she was on a trek with seven others in the forest at Palamalai near Periyanaickenpalayam in the district. The Periyanaickenpalayam police who are investigating the incident said that the gang had ventured into the reserve forest without obtaining permission from the forest department. The elephant attack took place on the hill road between Kunjoorpathy-Mankuzhi tribal villages near Palamalai Aranganathar temple at around 7.30 am on Sunday morning.
According to the police, P Buvaneshwari, the deceased, was residing at Ganapathy Maanagar in Coimbatore city. She had been working as an administrative officer at a private eye hospital on Sathyamangalam road and is a mother of two.
The deceased and her husband A Prasath (48), along with a few friends are said to have often visited hilly locations in and around the district for treks. They had gone to Palamalai hills at around 5 am on Sunday along with friends Vijayakumar, Arunan, Rameshkumar, Sakthi, Kathiravan and Muhammad Akmal. They climbed the hill road, reached Palamalai and then started walking on Kunjoorpathy-Mankuzhi road, said the police.
“A rogue elephant had then crossed the path of the eight-member gang and had attacked them,” said a forest staff.