A woman was killed by a rogue elephant as she was working with several other rubber tappers in a rubber plantation in Khao Chamao district of Rayong.
The victim was identified as Mrs Patcharrin Suthihom, 35, a native of Khao Chamao district. Her neck and right leg was broken and her body was bruised.
The victim’s husband, Mr Niyom Swangwong, later told police that several of them were working in the rubber plantation this morning when, out of a sudden, a huge elephant with just one ivory tusk emerged and charged toward the group.’
Niyom said he shouted for everyone to run but his wife was slow and was attacked by the beast which kicked her to the ground, struck at her with its trunk and stomped her with its feet.
But Mr Pitak Yuenyong, chief of the Ban Seeramun forest protection unit in Khao Ruenai, said that wild elephants do not normally attack people unless they were hurted before by humans. He admitted he didn’t know how the elephant was provoked.
Mr Pitak said that forest rangers had held several courses to educate people how to protect themselves from elephant attacks but “not a single rubber tapper has ever attended the courses.”
