Tourist woman dies after being trapped in elephant clash

Kushalnagar, May 18: A tragic incident took place at Dubare Tourist Center near Kushalnagar on Monday morning when a tourist woman died after being trapped under an elephant that fell into the river during a fight between two herds. The woman's husband and young child were fortunately saved in the incident. More than a thousand tourists were visiting the camp at the time of the incident, and a possible tragedy on a large scale was fortunately averted.

Junesh (33), a tourist woman from Pallavaram, Chennai, died after being trapped under one of the fighting elephants and drowned in the river. Fortunately, her husband Joel Simon Franklin and their young daughter escaped unhurt.

On a typical Monday morning,Tourists had crossed the river to the Sakane camp. Thousands had gathered to watch the elephant bathing and viewing at the camp. At that time, the Joel couple, who had arrived from Chennai, had also crossed the river and bought a ticket of Rs. 300 and went to the elephant bathing area.

Although the camp closed at 11 am, the pressure from tourists did not reduce. While they were leaving the camp for the forest, the Kanjan elephant of the camp suddenly attacked the nearby Martanda (Makhana elephant) and started a fight. Eyewitnesses said that when the Martanda elephant fell into the river, a woman who was nearby was stuck under the elephant and had a hard time getting out.

At this time, the woman's husband tried his best to save his little child and also save his wife, but failed to bring her out. Although Kanjan the elephant tried to control his elephant, it was seen that Kanjan Marthanda was fighting with the elephant for some time without any success.

Locals said that the woman, who was seriously injured, got trapped in the river after being trampled by the elephant and died on the spot.

Immediately, a group of youths who were rafting in the Cauvery River and local mammoth hunters joined hands and brought the seriously injured woman and her husband and child to the river bank and immediately tried to get them treated at a private hospital in Kushalnagar.

The hospital medical officers said that the seriously injured woman had died. The woman's husband, Joel Simon, and the little child, who were slightly injured, were examined and treated. Husband Simon suffered a minor injury to his leg. Fortunately, the three-year-old child is safe.

The tourist couple came to Mysore from Chennai by train and reached Dubare from Mysore by taxi and left for the camp in full.

Eyewitnesses have informed that the incident may have taken place when people were taking selfies near the elephant in the jungle. Joel Simon is said to be working as an engineer in a private company in Chennai.

During the elephant fight, while the handlers of the Marthanda elephant were standing on the river bank and struggling to control the elephants, the scene of the Kanjan elephant handler Kiran fighting to control his elephant from the top of the elephant caught everyone's attention.

The blood of the Marthanda elephant, who was severely injured by the Kanjan attack, was seen flowing in the river. Immediately, the camp's medical officer, Dr. Mujeeb, rushed to treat the injured elephant and is currently conducting a health check-up of the elephant at the camp

Madikeri constituency MLA Dr. Mantar Gowda visited the hospital and consoled the deceased woman's husband and instructed the forest officials to be careful not to repeat such an incident.

The incident is very sad, and it is very sad that a tourist woman died in the midst of a fight between two elephants. Attempts were made to bring the elephant involved in the fight under control, but to no avail. The MLA said that precautions are necessary in the camp and instructed the forest department officials present at the scene to closely monitor the incidents so that they do not recur.

The department should take immediate action to control the pressure of tourists. He said that the police and department staff within the camp area should always be ready to control tourists and such incidents. The MLA expressed his hope to provide necessary assistance to the victim's family. The MLA congratulated the members of the Dubare Rafting Association team who responded immediately and cooperated when the incident happened.

Speaking to reporters on this occasion, Abhishek, Deputy Conservator of Forests of the Madikeri Division of the Forest Department, informed about the incident and said that a fight broke out between two elephants while the elephants were in the river. A woman who was nearby got stuck under the elephant and died due to severe injuries. He said that the compensation provided by the department will be provided as per the rules. Action will be taken after receiving complete information about this. Commenting on the pressure of tourists at the camp, he said that action will be taken after discussing the incident with the District Collector.

He responded that the camp is a restricted area and the steps to be taken by the department in this regard will be discussed with the District Collector.

Kushalnagar Taluk Guarantee Implementation Committee Chairman V P Shashidhar, Co-Chairman Pramod Muthappa, Forest Officers AA Gopal, Rakshit, Kannanda Ranjan, Venkatesh, Police Officers Chandrashekhar, Manjunath and others visited and gathered information about the incident.

Joel, the husband of the deceased woman, had filed a complaint at the Siddapur Police Station regarding the incident.

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