A tourist has died after he was trampled by a wild bull elephant that is believed to be responsible for two other deaths.
The 65-year-old, known locally as Jirathachai Jiraphatboonyathorn, was taking a walk on Monday morning with his wife at Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park when the horror unfolded.
The attacked occurred at around 5.30am local time when the wild elephant known as Phlai Oyewan charged at Mr Jiraphatboonyathorn.
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It grabbed him with his trunk, slammed him to the ground and stomped on him as onlookers, including his wife, watched the brutal assault.
Local media reports that Mr Jiraphatboonyathorn was killed instantly, only 20 metres from his tent.
His wife managed to escape the ordeal unscathed after park rangers scared the wild animal away.
When medics and rescue workers arrived, they found Mr Jiraphatboonyathorn had suffered serious injuries, including severe bleeding and broken limbs.
A park ranger told the Bangkok Post that the elephant was “in a rut” and had previously killed two local residents.
National park chief, Chaiya Huayhongthong, told Agence France-Presse that authorities will meet on Friday to decide what to do with the elephant.
“We will probably decide to relocate him or change his behaviour,” he said.
Mr Jiraphatboonyathorn is the third person killed by Oyewan the elephant, said Mr Huayhongthong, adding that the elephant could be responsible for several more.
AFP reports that more than 220 people, including tourists, have been killed by wild elephants since 2012, according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
Thai authorities have started to administer contraceptive vaccines to female elephants in an attempt to control the increasing wild elephant population.
It was just last month, when a Spanish tourist was killed by an elephant as she was bathing the animal at a wildlife sanctuary in southern Thailand.
The ill-fated tourist was a 23-year-old woman, identified by local media as Blanca Ojanguren García, who was hit by the trunk of a stressed elephant.
The incident occurred at the Koh Yao Elephant Care Centre in Thailand’s Phang Nga province, where bathing elephants is one of the attractions for tourists.
