Dhenkanal: A 70-year-old man was trampled to death today by a herd of elephants which entered into Balaram Prasad village in Odisha's Dhenkanal district, forest officials said.
Villagers sighted the herd in their locality in the morning and around 1,000 people tried to drive away the herd which trampled one Gandharv Sahu to death while fleeing.
The deceased was, however, not part of the group of people which drove away the herd, they said.
The villagers claimed the elephants damaged the paddy crop which was to be harvested soon.
"We have given Rs 10,000 as preliminary assistance to the family members of the deceased. They will get compensation as per the rule," said assistant conservator of forest Jitendra Kumar Das.