A group of temple-bound devotees in Annamayya district, Andhra Pradesh, were attacked by a herd of elephants, resulting in three fatalities and two injuries.
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00:00Three people were killed and two others seriously injured by a herd of wild elephants in Andhra
00:08Pradesh's Annamaya district early on February 25, 2025.
00:13The incident took place near a forest where a group of 30 devotees were on their way to
00:17a temple for Shivratri celebrations around 2 a.m.
00:21The police said that the attack involved up to 15 elephants which left at least three
00:25devotees dead.
00:27The group had tried to scare the elephants away by shouting, but the animals became more
00:31aggressive and attacked, trampling several devotees, police officials said.
00:35Andhra Pradesh's Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan announced financial assistance of Rs.
00:4010 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs. 5 lakh each for the injured.
00:45The Forest Department launched an operation to drive the elephants back into the forest.
00:49Man-elephant conflicts are on the rise in Andhra Pradesh, especially in the Rayalaseema
00:54region where elephants frequently move between the state and neighbouring Tamil Nadu and
00:59Karnataka.
01:00This is mainly due to shortage of food and habitat in the forests which pushes elephants
01:05into nearby villages.
01:07The state government has sought help from Karnataka to manage the problem and Karnataka
01:11has agreed to send eight trained elephants to assist with the situation.