Man killed by elephants raiding village fields

was killed by wild elephants as he and some fellow villagers tried to protect their crops in Thong Pha Phum district of Kanchanaburi on Sunday night.

He is the second person from the village to be attacked by elephants this month.

Thamsin Ratananupappot, 54, was with other villagers and officials trying to keep a herd of about 30 elephants from entering their fields on the edge of Chong Yang Nong forest, close to Ban Pha On village in tambon Tha Khanoon, at about 5pm on Sunday.

Witnesses said about 10 female elephants with calves charged the group and Thamsin was unable to outrun them.

He was rushed to Thong Pha Phum Hospital but succumbed to severe chest injuries about 7.15pm.

Thamsin’s wife, Chayanant Ratananupappot, said her husband and the others had been using slingshots to keep the herd out of the village almost every night for the last month.

People were afraid to leave their farms, she added.

On May 16, Poo Sungsa-ngaphum, 73, was knocked down by a wild elephant. It reportedly hit him with its trunk, breaking his ribs and back, while he was digging for turmeric at the same village. He survived but has severe injuries.

Rangers from Thong Pha Phum National Park have advised local people not to confront elephants in the wild.

PIYARACH CHONGCHAROEN The blood-soaked body of Thamsin Ratananupappot, 54, is placed on a pick-up truck after he was attacked by a group of wild elephants in a forest in Ban Pha On in Kanchaburi’s Thong Pha Phum district on Sunday. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.