Cuttack: The current generation of selfie-maniacs and the trend of getting famous through videos on social media have increased the number of daredevilry acts that very often go awry. However, this young man from Athagarh in Cuttack district had a providential escape as he ran through the legs of a wild elephant that had strayed into the village.
As per sources, after a wild elephant ventured into Boula, a village next to NH-55 under Athagarh forest range, locals surrounded it and started feeding with different vegetables and eatables.
In the meantime, a youth of the same village, in a bid to do a stunt ran through the legs of the elephant within a few seconds. Though the elephant got irritated and moved his legs, the youth escaped unhurt. The video of the incident was recorded through a smartphone.
In a similar incident last month, selfie fever turned to be fatal, when a youth was crushed to death by a wild elephant at Nuapada under Khamara range in Angul district. As per sources, Jaydev Naik of Nimiribedha was trying to pose for a photo with the animal that had strayed from its herd and sneaked into human habitation.
The villagers were trying to chase the jumbo back to the herd when Naik went close to the pachyderm to pose for a selfie but it turned and trampled him.
In September last year, Ashok Bharti, a resident of Mandiakudar village of Kuanramunda forest range in Rourkela was also killed in a similar manner.