Representative image of elephants.
Credit: DH Photo
Jamshedpur: A member of a Quick Response Team (QRT) of the forest department was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Jharkhand's east Singhbhum district on Thursday, forest officials said.
The incident took place in the Darisole forest range area in Chakulia under Ghatsila Sub-division, around 60 km from here, a senior forest department official said.
According to the official, the QRT team had gone to the spot upon being informed about the movement of a herd of elephants.
As soon as the team reached the spot to drive away the herd of elephants into the nearby forest, the elephants attacked the team.
The forest department officials and villagers assembled following the attack and drove away the herd by bursting firecrackers and lighting torches.
Divisional Forest Officer, Mamta Priyadarshi, said everything was going on smoothly until a member of the ORT team hurled a torch at an elephant.
In an attempt to drive away the elephants, the victim had thrown the torch at the pachyderm prompting it to retaliate, she said, adding its reaction resulted in the death of the QRT member.
The victim, Bablu Baske, in his mid-20s, was a resident of Bankura district of West Bengal, she said.