Two injured after truck crashes into wild elephant

Two women were injured yesterday after their pickup truck slammed into an elephant in Kanchanaburi province.

The incident occurred on Road No 3199 near Ban Tha Ma Nao village in tambon Wang Dong of Muang district about 7.40am, Paitoon Indharabut, chief of the Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary, said.

While the two women were injured in the incident, their driver was unhurt. The women were later sent to hospital by rescuers from the Pitakkarn Foundation, a local ambulance service.

As for the elephant, wildlife officials were said to have located it in the forest after the incident and discovered that its right leg was injured.

The elephant was agitated when it was found, prompting officials to call in veterinarians from the Protected Area Regional Office 3 to provide assistance, Mr Paitoon said.

Separately, the Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary in Chachoengsao has warned villagers in the neighbouring Prachin Buri province to be aware of a roaming herd of wild elephants, which have been spotted foraging for food near residential communities.

A herd of about 60 wild elephants ventured out of a forest in Chachoengsao to search for food in Prachin Buri.

The herd had travelled to tambon Wang Tha Chang of Kabin Buri district in Prachin Buri, where about 40 elephants were sighted at Koh Payu Ka, near Ban Non Sombun. The other twenty were sighted near a sugar cane field near Ban Wang Kwang.

The herd was last seen near Ban Klong Pawa in Chachoengsao.