A pensioner was trampled to death by a wild elephant while foraging for mushrooms.
Saman Mitrthong, 66, took his son-in-law into the jungle to search for food in Bueng Kan, northeastern Thailand last Thursday (March 19) morning.
They ventured into a protected area of woodland used as a sanctuary for the creatures but when they were returning home the encountered one of the elephants, which charged at them.
The son-in-law Prasert Onseeda, 52, ran away without looking and thought that his father-in-law was following him. However, when he reached the village there was no sign of Saman and locals began to search for him.
The villagers found him dead in the wood with injuries consistently with being trampled by an elephant. He had multiple fractures and his body was covered in bruises.
The shocked son-in-law said he tried to grab the pensioner's hand and ran together but the elephant scared him.
He said: "When I saw the jumbo it was 30ft away so I grabbed my father-in-law's hand to run but the elephant approached us quickly, so I let go of his hand.
"I thought he was running behind me but when I arrived at our village he did not follow me so I brought the villagers to look for him and we found him dead."
The district sheriff Udom Inkrai said he will try to contact the local government for compensation for the dead man's family.
He said: "Many villagers here rely on the wild plants for food and the nearest jungle is also a part of a wildlife sanctuary, which makes villagers have chances to meet the elephants.
"I will find a way to help his family but for now I think it is hard to because in this case they went into the elephant territory themselves, and it was not their space invaded by the jumbo."
