Elephant crushes caretaker after striking the animal

kottayam - An elephant caretaker in Kottayam, a district of the Indian state of Kerala, died Sunday after an elephant sat on him.

Arun Panikkar tried to lay the animal down by striking it with a stick. That way Panikkar could wash the animal well. The elephant, however, had little appetite and went his own way. The caretaker lost his balance at that moment and fell. So the elephant landed on top of the 40-year-old man.

His colleague rushed to the elephant to raise the animal, but it was already too late.