Man trampled by wild elephants

December 31, 2007 05:47pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse

A HERD of wild elephants has killed one man and injured another in southern Thailand.

The Bangkok Post said two men from Burma's Karen ethnic group were riding a motorcycle near the southern beach resort of Hua Hin yesterday when they came across the elephants blocking the road.

They tried to go around the herd, the English-language daily said, but an elephant charged the motorcycle and they crashed into a ditch.

The pachyderms then trampled the two men.

The 19-year-old driver of the motorcycle escaped with injuries and hid in a bush until local villagers rescued him, the paper said, while the man named only as Bird died of head injuries and broken bones.

Thailand's total elephant population is nearly 5000, with up to 2000 of them living in the wild, conservation groups say.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22991096-23109,00.html