Moment out-of-control elephants turn on their handlers and trample crowd at Indian festival
This is the horrifying moment a panicked elephant tramples a crowd of festival-goers in India.
The male elephant was part of an 18 animal strong procession for the Rath Yatra celebrations through Khadia, an area in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, when it appears to have become spooked.
The colourfully dressed creature seems to be looking for a way out from the busy streets when he storms away from its handlers and charges towards a crowd pressed up against some railings.
Several terrified people get caught under the elephant's feet and the collapsing railing as the huge animal bulldozes through, waving its tusks.
Dozens rush to help the squashed festival-goers once the creature makes its way further down the street, two more elephants in tow.
RK Sahu, Superintendent of the Kamla Nehru Zoological Garden told The Times of India: 'Following protocol, the elephant was immediately given a tranquiliser injection.
'Two female elephants were used to gently herd him away from the crowd, in line with our standard safety strategy.'
The Indian outlet reported that no one was injured and the alarmed crowd was able to be brought back under control.
They added that the elephant was the only male in the procession and will not be re-joining the troop.
Around 100 people in India are killed each year by elephants, though the number can be as high as 300, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Rath Yatra is an annual festival which sees a procession make its way through the streets to celebrate three Hindu deities.
Chariots are traditionally used as well as elephants and decorated trucks make up the 14 kilometre long procession.
Two years ago, a person died during the festival after the balcony they were standing on collapsed.
More than 20 people were standing on the veranda watching the procession when Mehul Panchal was killed from the fall.
Among the injured were three children.
In 2022, Maya Murmu, 70, was trampled to death by an elephant when she was out collecting water in Raipal village, Eastern India when the escaped elephant came out of nowhere.
She later died in hospital of her injuries, Rasgovindpur police station inspector Lopamudra Nayak said.
Then that evening the elephant returned as the 70-year-old's body lay on top of her funeral pyre.
It took her body down, trampled her again, threw her around and went off into the night, according to the Press Trust of India.
The elephant is believed to have travelled from the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary in the state of Jharkhand, 200km away from Raipal in Odisha state, Mayurbhanj district.
According to local reports, the Independent said, the second trampling happened while Ms Murmu's family were performing last rites.
It is now known if anyone else was harmed but the family did go ahead with the ceremony after the elephant left.
The year before that, a 30-year-old man was filmed running for his life after a wild elephant charged at him in Assam, north-eastern India.
After tripping and falling in the paddy field, the man lies helplessly on the ground as the charging elephant closes the gap between them.
The man tries to get back up again, but within moments the pachyderm is upon him, goring him with its tusks and trampling him with a frightening ferocity.
Meanwhile, onlookers record the brutal encounter on their phones in terror.
The injured man was rushed to safety while the forest officials chased the jumbo back towards the forest cover.
India Today reported the man was 'severely injured' although still alive.
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