A man has been killed by a wild elephant in the Barachhara Darianagar area of Jhilongja union in Cox's Bazar Sadar.

It happened at dawn on Friday, 5 July, in an area next to the Marine Drive road.

The dead man was Monir Alam, 42, son of the late Kala Mia of the Darianagar area of Barachhara, Kolatoli.

Samir Ranjan Saha, Sadar range officer of the Cox's Bazar South Forest Division, confirmed the death.

According to local and forest department sources, a number of wild elephants roam the Himchhari reserved forest and sometimes come into settlements. Early that morning a stray wild elephant entered the Barachhara Darianagar area, and locals informed the forest department. Before forest staff arrived, however, locals tried to drive the elephant away, and the man was injured in the elephant's attack. He was taken to Cox's Bazar District Sadar Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Forest official Samir Ranjan Saha said the body has been handed over to the family. When forest staff arrived, the elephant was sent back into the deep forest with the help of locals.

This is the first human death from a wild elephant attack in Barachhara Darianagar since people settled there more than three decades ago, and it has spread panic among locals.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.