Teenage boy trampled to death by wild elephant in Hua Hin forest

The body of a teenage boy was found lying on the road near Kaeng Krachan National Park in Hua Hin district of the southern province Prachuap Khiri Khan in the early hours of Saturday morning. Local residents reported seeing a wild elephant wandering around the community foraging for food. They say the teenage boy might have been riding his motorbike alone in the dark when the elephant attacked him.

Residents found the body and notified officers from the Nong Plub Police Station, who responded to the incident with a rescue team. They identified the body of 17 year old Nakarin “Fluke” Toomthong and reported wounds on the forehead, a broken neck and broken teeth. About 5 metres away, they spotted the boy’s motorbike was spotted with scratches on the frame. The footprints of an elephant were found all over the road at the scene of the attack.

The residents who first found the body informed officers that earlier that night, they’d gone out to chase a wild elephant away from the community because it had eaten and destroyed their plantation. The group followed the elephant to the scene, where they found the teenager was lying on the road in blood. Hearing the sound of the elephant still nearby, they set off firecrackers to chase it away. The locals suspected that the teenage victim was trying to run away, but he couldn’t make it and got trampled.

The incident is yet another case in a string of recent elephant attacks. Last month, a 73 year old woman was killed by a hot-tempered elephant in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary in Prachin Buri. Both locals authorities did everything they could to push it back deep into the forest, even creating a sign with handwritten messages to chase it away. The authorities finally had to capture the agitated elephant and send it back to the forest. They said the animal lacked food during the summer season, prompting it to venture out into the area populated by humans.

SOURCE: Khaosod