Elephant brought for temple festival collapses and dies at Vallikunnu

Kozhikode: A captive elephant brought for the festival at the Ayyappa temple at Nerumkaithakotta near Vallikkunnu, Malappuram died after collapsing early on Wednesday.The elephant, Balussery Gajendran, collapsed while being bathed for a ritual. Parappanangadi police and forest officials also reached the spot and initiated further procedures. A team of veterinary doctors also examined the elephant. Malappuram social forestry ACF said the carcass was shifted to Kanjikode for postmortem examination which would be carried out on Thursday. The cause of death can be ascertained only after receiving the autopsy report, he said. The elephant was owned by Prabhakaran of Balussery.