Mahout Gets Sandwiched Between Elephant and Ground While Giving it a Bath

Kottayam: In a freak incident, a mahout was crushed to death when his elephant lay on its side pinning him to the ground, police said here Sunday.

Arun Panicker, 40, ordered the elephant to lie down for its bath, but it mistook his instruction and lay down on the side where he was standing instead of on the other side. As a result, Panicker got sandwiched between the animal and the ground, the police said.

He died on the spot, they said. His body has been sent for a postmortem. The elephant is owned by a hospital group in the city.