Chennai, Jun 19 (IANS): A tribal man was trampled to death by a wild elephant late on Sunday night in the Coimbatore forest range. However, the body was found in Anakatti forest on Monday morning.

This is the seventh death caused by a wild elephant in the Coimbatore forest division in 2023.

Tamil Nadu Forest Department officials told IANS that the deceased was identified as N. Maruthan (57), residing in Senguttai tribal settlement in the Periyanaickenpalayam forest range in Coimbatore.

Information was received by the Periyanaickenpalayam forest range office on Sunday evening at 6.15 p.m. that Maruthan who had gone into the forest in search of missing cattle had not returned.

Forest range officer N. Saravanan led a team of officials to the forest and conducted a massive search on Monday morning. After around one hour, the forest team found the body of Maruthan. He had been trampled to death by an elephant.

The Karumadi police in Coimbatore reached the spot after being alerted by the forest department officials and took the body to Mettupalayam government hospital for postmortem.