Two elderly men were trampled to death by a wild elephant in Korba district, a forest official said Saturday.
The incident took place on Friday evening near a dam under Bango police station area when the victims identified as Sahasram Binjahwar (65) and Sadhram Dhanuwar (64) had gone to catch fish there, said DD Sant, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Katghora forest division.
As per preliminary information, the duo had gone along with three other villagers to catch fish in the submergence area of Bango dam, he said.
Suddenly, a tusker appeared there and attacked them. While three villagers managed to escape, the jumbo caught hold of two elderly men and smashed them on the ground with its trunks before trampling them to death, he said.
On getting information of the incident on Saturday morning, forest and police personnel rush to the spot and sent bodies for post mortem, he said.
The kin of the deceased have been provided an instant relief amount of Rs 25,000 each and remaining compensation of Rs 5.75 lakh each will be provided to them after completing the necessary formalities, the official said.
Forest personnel have been directed to keep a tab on the tuskers' movement to prevent any untoward incident further, he said.
The region has witnessed several killings of tribals and widespread damage to houses and crops by rogue elephants.