Coimbatore: A wild elephant fatally attacked a German tourist riding a two-wheeler while he was passing through the Tiger Valley hill road near Valparai, on Tuesday evening, officials said.
The onlookers rescued the tourist identified as Micheal Jurcen from the elephant and rushed him to a Waterfall Garden Hospital in Anamalai Tiger Reserve Valparai where he was administered first aid. He was referred to Pollachi Government Hospital for higher care and was shifted to Pollachi by a state-run ambulance service.
Doctors said the German national did not respond to the treatment and succumbed to the injuries later in the hospital.
Police officials identified the tourist as Michael, 77, who has been touring India.
Police said the incident occurred when the tourist was passing through a stretch of the hill road, ignoring the wild tusker's presence.
A video of the attack which claimed his life has trickled out in social media. In the video, the tourist was seen overtaking a vehicle from the left towards the elephant while several other road users had halted their vehicles at a safe distance from the wild animal. The video was apparently shot by a traveller in the vehicle which the tourist last overtook.
He veered to the right side of the road in his bid to avoid the agitated animal. The next second in the video shows the tourist attracting its attention. The pachyderm is seen turning around and charging towards the two-wheeler. The animal then mowed it down and then it appeared to move back. Michael managed to gather himself up and ran into the woods.
As it was seen trying to shift its focus away from the man, he came back towards the vehicle. This time too he got the attention of the elephant. It turned around and charged at him again. It then attacked him, tossing him in the air, and disrupting his fleeing attempt.
Road users chased the animal away before they rushed and rescued the injured foreign motorist. According to police, the deceased had visited Valparai and was returning to Pollachi when he came under the attack.
