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Elephant runs amok at annual festival in Kerala’s Malappuram, tosses man in horrifying moment. Watch

The horrifying video shows the elephant lifting a man and swinging him in the air.

The incident occurred on Wednesday night at BP Angadi, Tirur (Image source: @ANI/X)

An annual festival at a mosque in Kerala’s Malappuram district turned tragic after an elephant went berserk, injuring at least 17 people, one of them critical. The incident occurred on Wednesday night at BP Angadi, Tirur.

The horrifying video shows Pakkathu Sreekuttan, the elephant, aggressively lifting a man and swinging him in the air, and then flinging him. The viral video also captures the chaotic scene as people at the festival run for their lives.

Sharing the video on X, news agency ANI wrote, “Malappuram, Kerala: Many people were injured when an elephant turned violent during Puthiyangadi annual ‘nercha’ at BP Angadi, Tirur.”

Watch here:

#WATCH | Malappuram, Kerala: Many people were injured when an elephant turned violent during Puthiyangadi annual ‘nercha’ at BP Angadi, Tirur

(Source: Taluk Disaster Response Force) pic.twitter.com/jlm7tCGTxf

— ANI (@ANI) January 8, 2025

According to a report in Manorama, the man is critical and has been admitted to a private hospital in Kottakkal. As people tried to escape the elephant’s wrath, many others were injured. The report also stated that a mahout managed to calm the animal by 2.15 AM.

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A similar incident took place in March last year. An elephant ran amok during the concluding ceremony of the Tharakkal temple festival. The incident unfolded when the elephant, Guruvayur Ravikrishnan, parading for the “Ammathiruvadi,” went out of control. The elephant made three attempts to attack the mahout, but he managed to escape. However, he sustained minor injuries and was rushed to a hospital at Koorkenchery, reports said.

In another terrifying incident last year, a 70-year-old woman was trampled to death by a wild elephant at Adimali in Kerala’s Idukki district. She was tragically trampled to death on her farmland while grazing her sheep. Despite being rushed to the hospital by people from nearby agricultural lands, she was pronounced dead on arrival.