Elephant tramples 5 people to death in India

A wild elephant has killed five people, including three in a family, in eastern Indian state of Odisha, officials said Saturday.

The deaths took place in two villages in Angul district, about 127 km north of Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha.

"Five persons were trampled to death by a lone tusker in two adjacent villages -- Sandha and Santhapada here during intervening night of Thursday and Friday," a police official in Angul said. "Of the five deceased, three belonged to one family."

According to police, the deceased were sleeping on verandah of their houses when the elephant attacked them.

Wildlife officials in Odisha said shortage of fodder in the forests forced elephants to venture inside villages and human habitations.

Local media reports quoting Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO), an environmental pressure group, said last year over 90 persons were killed in elephant attacks, in the state.

"It took more than 12 hours for forest officials to tranquilize the rouge elephant," police official said. "No sooner the elephant was spotted at Kholua on the banks of the Bramahani river, veterinarians from Bhubaneswar's Nandankanan Zoological Park fire-shot tranquilizing darts."

According to officials, the elephant was later de-tusked.