Elephant goes berserk during temple festival in Palakkad; one killed, 15 injured amid crowd rush

PALAKKAD: A man died and 15 others were injured in a crowd rush after an elephant ran amok during temple festival in Kallekkad, Palakkad. Balasubramaniyan (63), a native of Vallikkode, is the deceased.

The incident happened around 10 pm on Friday at Mariyamman temple. The elephant named Puthur Ganeshan went berserk when the fireworks began. Those sitting on top of the elephant escaped as they caught a hanging tree branch. Balasubramaniyan fell down while trying to escape from the elephant. He was rushed to the district hospital but was declared dead.

The elephant also destroyed the two-wheelers parked nearby. After taming the elephant, the mahouts took the elephant away from the spot. The accident occurred just minutes before the end of the festival.