Two people belonging to the tribal community were allegedly killed during a wild elephant attack on Monday, near the Athirappilly waterfalls in Thrissur district of Kerala. This is the third such incident reported in the area in the last 48 hours, according to officials.

The deceased have been identified as Satheesh (30 years old) and Ambika (37 years old), both residents of the Sasthampooam tribal settlement.

According to the relatives of the deceased and the local Panchayat officials, both victims were amongst a group of people who were allegedly attacked by a herd of wild animals when they were inside the forest to forage for wild honey. The incident occurred upstream of the Chalakudy River, inside the Vazhachal division.

Human-Animal Conflict

“They were collecting honey inside the forest when they were attacked by a herd of wild elephants. The body of Satheesh clearly bears injuries that are sustained in an elephant attack. The postmortem examination will confirm it. The temporary tent has been destroyed by the elephants as well. No foul play suspected,” informed KK Rijesh, the President of the Athirappilly Panchayat, to the national media.

The DFO of the area said that all tribal settlements were advised to take adequate safety precautions while collecting honey within the forest. The Forest Department statistics show that there have been at least 18 fatalities in human-animal conflict within the state, the majority of which are elephant attacks.