KalingaTimes Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, May 12: Three persons were killed by a wild elephant inside Barbara forest under Khurda Forest Division in Orissa late on Sunday evening, forest officials said on Monday.

The victims were trampled to death by a sub-adult tusker which was in a mast condition and moving alone around 7-30 pm.

The elephant had attacked the victims when they were passing through the jungle road inside deep forest areas.

The tusker had come out of a group five elephants that have been living in the Barbara forest for several weeks. The group originally belonged to forests in Ganjam district.

While two of the victims belonged to Mandara village, another belonged to Bignaput village.

According to Khurda Divisional Forest Officer G. Rajesh, a sum of Rs 2,000 each had already been paid to the family of the victims for performing the funeral rites.

Compensation amount of Rs one lakh each would be paid to them after completion of formalities, the DFO said.

A special team of forest staff had been pressed into service to keep the tusker at bay, according to the DFO.

As a precautionary measure, the people living in the fringe areas of Barbara forest are being advised not to take the forest roads during the wee hours and after sunset.