A 65-year-old woman was killed and another woman severely injured as a tusker attacked them on a forest road near Jamdarah Bazaar under Balisankar block in Sundergarh district on Sunday evening.
The elephant lifted laxmi Apat (65), a widow, and Dalimba Rout (32) in its trunk and then threw them down. While Dalimba fell in a bush and managed to survive, laxmi fell in front of the jumbo, which then trampled her to death.
Dalimba is undergoing treatment in the Subdega Hospital in a critical condition. The irate villagers blocked the highway demanding steps to curb elephant menace in the area for a few hours.
As many as eight persons have been killed in elephant attack since December 12 in the Sundargrh Forest Division area.