- An elephant charged at an ambulance carrying an injured worker in Kerala's Idukki district
- The ambulance was blocked for nearly ten minutes on the Marayoor-Udumalpet interstate route
- The driver used the horn and siren to scare the elephant back into the forest
An ambulance carrying an injured migrant worker in Kerala's Idukki district had a close call after a lone elephant charged at the vehicle.
The ambulance remained blocked on the Marayoor-Udumalpet interstate route for nearly ten minutes before the lone tusker retreated into the forest.
A migrant worker who had suffered a severe leg injury at a construction site was being rushed to hospital when the elephant suddenly emerged from the forests and ran nearly 20 metres straight towards the ambulance. The incident occurred near the 'S' curve close to the Chinnar forest checkpost.
The ambulance driver, Selva, immediately activated both the siren and horn together. The loud sound made the elephant stop across the middle of the road, blocking the path.
He continued to sound the horn and siren in intervals, forcing the animal to slowly back away into the forest.
Only after the elephant disappeared into the woods could the ambulance proceed to the hospital.
The incident caught on camera was another testament to the nature of the human-animal conflict in the hill district of Kerala.
In October, local government officials in Palakkad district urged the forest department to move a wild elephant, locally named Kabali, back into the forests after multiple incidents of road blockage and attacks on vehicles by the lone tusker were reported along an interstate highway.
In one such incident, traffic on the Athirappilly-Malakkappara interstate highway came to a halt for nearly 18 hours after the elephant entered the road.
A video of the tusker showed it standing on the road, leisurely feeding on the tree and then trampling on its trunk. Tourists, including several interstate travellers, were reportedly forced to wait while forest officials narrowly escaped an attack as they tried to drive the elephant back to the forest.
'Kabali' is known for its 'notorious' behaviour. Last year it had blocked an ambulance and injured a biker. In 2022, it attacked a jeep.
