An 18-year-old youth was killed by a wild elephant in a forest in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district on Tuesday, a Forest Department official said.
The incident took place early in the morning near Behramar village in the Chhal Forest Range, where victim Rakesh Rathiya and a friend had gone to collect Mahua fruits, Divisional Forest Officer Dharamjaigarh Manivasagan S said.
While his friend escaped, the elephant caught hold of Rathiya and slammed him on the ground with its trunk, killing him on the spot, he said.
On being alerted, police and Forest Department personnel shifted the body for post-mortem.
The kin of the deceased were provided immediate relief of Rs 25,000 while the remaining compensation will be given on completion of formalities, the officer added.
Despite being warned about an elephant roaming near the villages, the two ventured into the area, he said.
Several incidents of human-elephant conflict have been reported from the forested northern Chhattisgarh comprising Surguja, Surajpur, Korba, Raigarh, Jashpur, Balrampur and Korea districts.