Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah and Ramli Ibrahim New Straits Times 7 Dec 10;
GUA MUSANG: A 26-year-old man was trampled to death, by elephants while his four friends escaped while looking for buah keranji (velvet tamarind) on Monday.
In the incident which occurred at Hutan Bring, Pos Pasik, near here, Muhamad Adnan Iberahim was believed to have died of injuries to his head and body after being trampled by the herd of elephants.
Adnan and his friends, all from Kampung Lata Rek, Kuala Krai, had gone to the forest in a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
Recalling the incident, the victim's friend, Mohd Asri Shafie, 30, said they were walking to the location where they normally picked the fruit soon after parking their vehicle.
"While walking to the place, we heard some loud noises coming from behind and were shocked when we turned and saw several elephants, including a calf, coming towards us.
"We panicked and ran for safety. We ran as fast as we could and went in different directions, deep into the jungle.
"The only thing on our minds at this moment was to find shelter and hide so that the elephants will not attack us."
Asri said after 20 minutes, the elephants left the area and ventured into another part of the jungle.
After coming out of safety, the four of them realised that Adnan was not with them.
They then looked for him and found him a few metres away.
"He was lying in a pool of blood. We immediately took him to Gua Musang hospital."
District police chief Superintendent Saiful Bahri Abdullah confirmed the case.
Meanwhile, State Wildlife and National Park director Pazil Abdul Fatah said the department had deployed a team to investigate the incident.
It is believed that this was the first such incident in the state in the last 10 years.
Besides Jeli, Gua Musang is the other district that has a large number of elephants.
