A wildlife official was killed and another injured when they were attacked by a wild elephant in a fruit orchard in Lom Kao district of Phetchabun province on Monday.
The officials from Phu Luang wildlife sanctuary in Loei province had been assigned to help officials in Lom Kao district to disperse a herd of elephants foraging for food in orchards in Ban Huai Khoi, Sila sub-district.
Emergency teams managed to rescue the injured official, and he was taken to the district hospital for treatment, but they were unable to retrieve the body of the other victim, because the elephant which attacked them was still in the area.
Villagers claim that the same elephant has attacked people before. They think that the hot weather may be making the pachyderm irritable.
