A Buddhist monk in Khao Saming district of Trat province was killed when he tried to chase away a wild elephant entering the temple looking for food.
The incident happened Sunday night at Wat Khao Cha-om temple in Village Group 8 of Tambon Sator of Khao Saming district. However the body of the monk identified later as Phra Prasit Jakavaro.
Temple boys told the police that several wild elephants entered the temple area last night as they used to in the past few months looking for food.
Phra Prasit came out of his living place to chase the elephants as usual.
But this time one elephant didn’t go but charged into the monk. He ran around a mango tree in bid to escape but couldn’t make through.
He was pulled with the trunk and smashed at the tree, and stepped on the head by the angry elephant.
He died with his face to the ground near the tree. His face was crushed and skull and several bones were also broken.
The abbot of the temple said wild elephants coming down from mountains for food was a chronic problem of the temple and villagers.
He said two years ago a villager was also killed by wild elephants in the same area.