Elephants Attack in Andhra Pradesh: 5 People Dead, Many Injured

Annamayya, AP – 25 February – (www.deccanlive.com): A group of elephants attacked on Tuesday morning in Annamayya district, Andhra Pradesh, killing five people and injuring many others. The incident happened around 5:30 AM in the Gundalakona forest area of Obulavaripalle Mandal.
According to an officer from Obulavaripalle Police Station, some devotees were passing through the Seshachalam forest to visit a Lord Shiva temple for Mahashivratri. As they moved toward Talakona, they saw a herd of wild elephants. Suddenly, the elephants became aggressive and started attacking.
The police officer said, “As the herd of elephants moved toward them, the devotees started shouting loudly to scare them away. However, the elephants surrounded them and attacked. Panic spread, and people started running to save their lives, but some were trampled by the elephants.”
In this incident, five people died on the spot, and many others were seriously injured. As soon as the police and forest department got the information, they reached the location and started the rescue operation.
2 Injured in Critical Condition
The police officer said that the injured were taken to a nearby hospital, and two of them are in critical condition. The five people who died were from Urlagaddapadu village in Railway Koduru Mandal.
Earlier, on Sunday evening, a wild elephant killed a man and a woman in the Aralam Farm area of Kannur district, Kerala. The victims, identified as Velli and Leela, were from the 13th block of the Aralam tribal resettlement area. The attack happened while they were collecting cashew nuts.
Police and forest officials reached the spot, and their bodies were sent to Pariyaram Government Medical College. The 13th block, especially the Odachal area, is known for frequent wild elephant intrusions. In the last six years, elephant attacks in the Aralam Farm region have killed 11 people.