MERSING: A plantation worker was killed, and another is in critical condition following an elephant attack after they attempted to chase the animal away with sticks near a school in Felda Tenggaroh today.
District deputy police chief Deputy Superintendent Sharif Shai Sharif Mondoi said that the workers spotted the wild elephant near Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) LKTP Tenggaroh at 11am.
Concerned for the safety of the school, they tried to steer the elephant back into the nearby forest.
However, their actions provoked the animal, resulting in a violent attack.
One of the workers suffered severe injuries to his neck and chest and tragically succumbed to his wounds while en route to the Tenggaroh 2 public health clinic.
The other worker, who sustained head injuries, internal bleeding, and a fractured pelvis, was initially treated at Mersing Hospital before being transferred to Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Baru, where his condition is reported to be critical.
Sharif said that the deceased's body had been sent to Mersing Hospital for a post-mortem, and the case has been classified as a sudden death.
He urged the public to report encounters with wild animals to the authorities and to refrain from taking matters into their own hands, as such actions can escalate situations and lead to dangerous consequences.
Earlier, Tenggaroh assemblyman K. Raven Kumar said that both men, aged in their 40s, were believed to have been trampled after the elephant became agitated and charged at them.
The elephant was first sighted behind the school at 8.30am.
The Felda manager had advised the workers to leave the animal alone and had reported the sighting to the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).
Unfortunately, the workers chose to confront the elephant, leading to the tragic incident.
"We were informed at 11.30am that two men had been critically injured after being trampled by the elephant. They were rushed to the nearest hospital, but one of them did not survive," Raven told the New Straits Times.
Perhilitan promptly deployed a team and utilised drones for aerial surveillance, but the elephant was not located.
Raven said that elephants had been spotted in the area before, and residents had been warned to maintain a safe distance and avoid provoking wildlife.
This incident follows a similar tragedy last month when a 75-year-old rubber tapper was killed by an elephant in Kluang, about 80km from Mersing.
Misirah Saniman's body was found in a plantation, showing injuries consistent with being trampled, resulting in fatal damage to her chest and internal organs.