A Malaysian logger was trampled to death by a herd of elephants while working at a remote site.
The victim, Saidi Jahari, 43, was found dead by his companions on the morning of October 29 in Gua Musang, a district in northern Malaysia.
According to district police superintendent Sik Choon Foo, the fatal attack unfolded in two terrifying phases.
Jahari, who was the site supervisor, and five of his co-workers were sleeping in tents when, on the night of October 28, they heard the elephants approaching.
The group fled into the surrounding forest for safety, but Jahari was unable to outrun the herd.
When the others returned several hours later, they found him alive but seriously injured, with both legs broken.
“They took the victim inside the longhouse to give him temporary protection,” Choon Foo said.
But not long after, a male elephant, believed to be the leader of the herd, returned and attacked them again.
The men fled once again, forced to leave their wounded colleague behind.
The group returned and discovered the victim was no longer there.
“Nearby searches discovered Saidi dead on the way out, with serious injuries that appeared to have been trampled by an elephant,” Choon Foo said.
Authorities have since alerted the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, which is working to locate and contain the herd.
Speaking after his brother’s death, Sulaiman Jahari, 32, described their last meeting.
“I didn’t expect it to be our last meeting,” he said.
“Usually he was quiet and didn’t talk much about work, but during dinner he was cheerful and lively.”
Tragically, Saidi had only been in his current position for about two weeks, despite spending almost 30 years in the logging industry.
Logging – the business of felling and preparing wood – remains one of the most dangerous rural occupations in Malaysia.
Workers often operate in areas inhabited by wild elephants.
This is not the first deadly encounter between humans and elephants in recent months.
In September, two British couples in Botswana narrowly escaped death when a male elephant capsized their canoes and tried to trample them after they ventured too close to his herd.
Video footage shows the animal breaking the charge before launching a second attack on one of the women.
It charges at her underwater and narrowly avoids it with its fangs.
She reportedly survived only because the murky water hid her from view.
That same month, tragedy struck in another part of the world when Israel Shambira, a 58-year-old elephant keeper, was killed by an adult female he had raised since birth.
Moments before, he had filmed a video celebrating the animal’s 19th birthday.
A spokesman for the reserve described the elephant’s behavior as “unexpected” and said the animals were in a “relaxed” state before the attack.
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“She was a gentle giant, which is what makes this so tragic and disconcerting to understand because Israel had been by her side since she was born 19 years ago,” the spokesperson said.
“Israel loved and cared for those elephants as much as he loved and cared for his family, and it was 30 years of his life. He will be greatly missed.”
