Korea (Chhattisgarh), Jun 8: Two labourers engaged in road construction work were killed in an attack by a wild elephant inside a tiger reserve at Manendragarh in Chhattisgarh, forest officials said on Monday.
The incident occurred late Sunday night near Devsil village when workers involved in the road construction were resting after dinner, a senior forest official said.
The Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve is spread across Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB), Korea, Surajpur and Balrampur districts.
The road is being built between Ramgarh in Korea and Kotadol in MCB. The forest area where the attack took place falls under the MCB district.
According to preliminary information, the labourers had lit a fire and were resting after their meal when an elephant suddenly reached the spot and attacked them, the official said.
Forest personnel from the tiger reserve rushed to the scene after receiving information about the incident, he said.
A worker, identified as Gaurav (22), died on the spot, while another labourer, Amar Singh (35), suffered serious injuries and succumbed while forest personnel were taking him to Sonhat Hospital in the wee hours of Monday, the official said.
After completion of post-mortem formalities, immediate assistance of Rs 25,000 will be provided to the next of kin of each deceased. The remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh each will be given after completion of the necessary formalities, he added.
Human-elephant conflict has remained a major concern in northern Chhattisgarh for more than a decade, while the menace has further spread its footprint in some districts of the central region in the last few years.
The districts that have been facing the menace mainly are Surguja, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, Jashpur and Balrampur.
According to forest department officials, more than 325 persons lost their lives in elephant attacks across Chhattisgarh over the past five years. (PTI)
