Tenkasi, Nov 9:
A wild elephant attacked a four-wheeler near the Shenkottai forest border corridor in Tenkasi district late on Sunday night, leaving one occupant dead and another critically injured.
According to local authorities, the victims were traveling along the ghat highway connecting border check-posts when a herd suddenly crossed the road. An adult tusker charged aggressively toward the vehicle, smashing the windshield and overturning the car. While fellow motorists attempted to sound horns and raise alarms to drive the herd back into the sanctuary, the front-seat passenger sustained fatal crush injuries and died on the spot.
Highway patrol personnel and forest department field staff rushed to the scene following emergency calls, rescued the surviving occupant, and shifted the deceased to the Tenkasi Government Headquarters Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Forest officials noted that seasonal migration patterns and active movement along water corridors have heightened elephant encounters in the Shenkottai-Aryankavu border stretches. Authorities have intensified night-patrol deployments, installed warning retro-reflective signage, and cautioned motorists against speeding or stopping along wooded highway curves.