The swirling currents of swollen Mahanadi on Monday washed away five elephants, which were part of a herd of 20, for about 15km before they could be rescued after an eight-hour effort.

The elephants were crossing the river near Munduli to return to the Chankada forest, their original habitat, when the incident occurred.

Much to the relief of forest officials, the five jumbos, four of them females, finally managed to swim ashore to safety. While three elephants swam to the riverbank near the Naraj barrage, another two were spotted at Anantpur and Brajabiharpur. The elephant that reached Anantpur allegedly attacked a woman, who had to be hospitalised.

Forest officer Arun Kumar Swain, who was supervising the rescue operation, said that efforts were on to drive the elephants back into the forest. Admitting that this was the first incident of its kind, Swain said the movement of elephants between Chandaka and Athgarh on the opposite banks of the river was a regular affair. “Elephants are good swimmers. The river current must have been quite strong to sweep them away,” he added.

Swain said the Chandaka elephant sanctuary had about 20 to 25 elephants that come over to Athgarh. Crossing the river is common job for these animals, but on Monday the swift currents did them in. Mahanadi is in spate following Titli- triggered rain.”

Officials launched a rescue drive around 7am after local residents informed them about elephants being washed away in the river. The operation, during which three gates of the Munduli barrage over Mahanadi were reportedly closed for sometime to reduce the flow of water in the river, continued for around eight hours.