Woman, son trampled to death by elephants in Chhattisgarh

A 30-year-old woman and her minor son were trampled to death by a herd of elephants in Chhattisgarh's Balrampur district, an official said today.
A couple and their two children, residents of Atauri Belsota village, were on their way to a relative's place on a motorcycle when they came face-to-face with the tuskers on a road between Karsi and Dhandhapur villages last evening, divisional forest officer Vivekanand Jha said.
They left their vehicle and tried to escape from the spot but the elephants chased them.
The pachyderms smashed the woman and one of the children on the ground with their trunks before trampling them to death, the official said.

The deceased were identified as Geeta and her son Dilesh (7), he said.
The woman's husband and another child managed to escape from the spot, located around 400 kms from Raipur.

The kin of the deceased have been given an instant relief amount, Jha said, adding that the remaining compensation will be disbursed soon after completion of the necessary formalities.
Several incidents of human-elephant conflict have been reported in the past from the thick forested northern Chhattisgarh, consisting of Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Korea districts.
The region has witnessed several killings of tribals and widespread damage to houses and crops by rogue elephants.