COIMBATORE: A 72-year-old man died after being attacked by a wild elephant near KG Chavadi in Coimbatore district on Tuesday morning.The deceased has been identified as Nataraj of Pudhupathi village near Mavuthampathi, close to the Kerala forest border. According to officials, the incident occurred around 6am when Nataraj went to a nearby stream to relieve himself. A lone elephant that was moving through the area chased and attacked him, leaving him critically injured.Hearing his screams, nearby residents rushed to the spot and raised an alarm, forcing the elephant to move away. Forest department personnel were informed, and they reached the area. With their help, Nataraj was rescued and taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. However, he died on the way.His body was sent to the Coimbatore Govt Medical College Hospital for postmortem.According to forest department officials, elephant movement has increased in the foothill areas of Madukkarai, Boluvampatti and Anaikatti in recent days. Due to the southwest monsoon, several elephants from the rain-hit Kerala forest region are believed to have moved into the adjoining Tamil Nadu forest areas.
