Fatal elephant attack on temple-bound devotees in Andhra Pradesh

India Today

A group of temple-bound devotees in Annamayya district, Andhra Pradesh, were attacked by a herd of elephants, resulting in three fatalities and two injuries.

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00:00Three people were killed and two others seriously injured by a herd of wild elephants in Andhra

00:08Pradesh's Annamaya district early on February 25, 2025.

00:13The incident took place near a forest where a group of 30 devotees were on their way to

00:17a temple for Shivratri celebrations around 2 a.m.

00:21The police said that the attack involved up to 15 elephants which left at least three

00:25devotees dead.

00:27The group had tried to scare the elephants away by shouting, but the animals became more

00:31aggressive and attacked, trampling several devotees, police officials said.

00:35Andhra Pradesh's Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan announced financial assistance of Rs.

00:4010 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs. 5 lakh each for the injured.

00:45The Forest Department launched an operation to drive the elephants back into the forest.

00:49Man-elephant conflicts are on the rise in Andhra Pradesh, especially in the Rayalaseema

00:54region where elephants frequently move between the state and neighbouring Tamil Nadu and

00:59Karnataka.

01:00This is mainly due to shortage of food and habitat in the forests which pushes elephants

01:05into nearby villages.

01:07The state government has sought help from Karnataka to manage the problem and Karnataka

01:11has agreed to send eight trained elephants to assist with the situation.

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