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A 66 year old Buddhist monk was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Chanthanaburi province in eastern Thailand on Saturday. The terrifying moment was captured by CCTV.
At 5am yesterday, a monk came out of his hut and discovered the body of Phra Prachon Suksingh outside on the temple grounds. It was clear that he had been trampled to death by an elephant, with elephant footprints found at the scene. Monks checked the CCTV camera which revealed that the incident happened at 9.26pm on Saturday.
Monks at Wat Santiranaram temple in Kaeng Hang Maeo district notified national park officials on Sunday morning, who came to investigate with officers from Kaeng Hang Maeo Police Station and rescue workers from Sawangkathanyudhammasathan Foundation.
Another monk at the temple said that around the time of the incident, he heard one of the temple dogs relentlessly barking. He didn’t go outside, but he suspects that Phra Prachon had gone outside to see what the dog was barking at.
The wild elephant is suspected to have come out of Khao Chamao-Khao Wong National Park. Recently, there have been three or four elephants frequenting the temple grounds, said monks. The monks have spoken to the relevant authorities about how to drive the elephants away from the area.
Recently, more and more elephants are leaving the forest and wreaking havoc in communities. Last week, a herd of 40 elephants devoured 60 rai of crops in Nakhon Ratchasima province in northeast Thailand.
Two weeks ago, an elephant smashed through a concrete wall into a home in Prachin Buri province in the middle of the night in search of food.
In August, an elderly woman was trampled to death by an elephant at a rubber plantation in Chachoengsao, eastern Thailand. Her daughter and granddaughter were also attacked but managed to escape.
Three days prior, a man in Hua Hin was trampled to death by wild elephants at a village near the border of Kaeng Krachan National Park.
An elephant ripped its mahout’s body in half with its tusks in Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, last month. Police suspect the elephant was annoyed at its owner for making it carry rubberwood in the hot sun.
SOURCE: KhaoSod