Two women were killed and a man was injured after they were attacked by a wild elephant in Chhattisgarh's Korba district on Sunday, a forest official said.
The incident took place around 1 pm in the coal dumping area of the Chotia coal mine under the Katghora forest range, said Kumar Nishant, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Katghora forest division.
Narsingh Paikra (42), his wife Rajkumari (39), sister Punni Bai (55) and her son Deepak, all residents of Korbi village, had gone to the coal dumping area to pluck bamboo shoots, he said.
They encountered an elephant and tried to escape, but the animal caught hold of the two women and trampled them to death, the official said.
Narsingh sustained serious injuries in the attack, while Deepak managed to escape, he said.
On being alerted about the incident, forest officials rushed to the scene and sent the bodies for post-mortem, while the injured man was admitted to a nearby community health centre, the DFO said.
The families of each of the deceased women have been provided with an assistance of Rs 25,000, and the remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh each will be disbursed after completion of formalities, he said.
The forest department will cover the medical expenses of the injured man, the official added.
A herd of 41 elephants has been roaming in the Kendai and Etma forest range of the area and villagers have been advised not to venture into the forest, forest officials said.
Human-elephant conflicts in the state, particularly in the northern part, have been a major cause of concern since the last decade. The menace has gradually spread to some districts in the central region in the last few years.
Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Mahasamund, Dhamtari, Gariaband, Balod, Balrampur and Kanker are the districts facing the menace.
According to the forest department, more than 230 people were killed in elephant attacks in the state in the last three years.
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