National park ranger killed after attempting to stop wild elephant rampaging in local communities in Prachinburi

Prachinburi –

A national park ranger was tragically killed in the early hours of Monday, September 12th, after attempting to stop a wild elephant that was rampaging in local communities and damaging houses for food in Prachinburi.

Officials from the Thap Lan National Park along with the Ban Wang Ai Pong village headman arrived at the scene on Sunday night, September 11th, after being alerted of the wild elephant from the national park intruding on the village looking for food. They attempted to push the mammal back to the park to prevent it from hurting villagers as it previously did with two local residents in the area.

Unfortunately, when the park ranger, who was later identified as Arthit Phewngam, was attempting to scare the animal with firecrackers, the elephant attacked the official and trampled him to the ground.

He was rushed to a local hospital but was eventually pronounced dead in the early hours of Monday.

According to local villagers, the male elephant had been encroaching on the residential areas in Nadi district for five months, stealing produce and damaging villagers’ kitchens in the houses for food as well as injuring two local villagers.

The status of the elephant as of press time was still unclear but was believed to be still on the loose in the dense forests of the national park.

Photo Courtesy: Manager Online

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Nop Meechukhun
National News Writer at The Pattaya News from September 2020 to October, 2022. Born and raised in Bangkok, Nop enjoys telling stories of her hometown through her words and pictures. Her educational experience in the United States and her passion for journalism have shaped her genuine interests in society, politics, education, culture, and art.