Elephant shakes tree, power cable snaps; jumbo dies of electrocution

A male elephant died of electrocution on Saturday at a village near Kothagiri in the Nilgiris district when it accidentally came in contact with an overhead electricity transmission line, authorities said.

The incident happened when the 15-year-old elephant tried to uproot a tree and in the process, a nearby overhead High Tension electricity cable snapped and the pachyderm was electrocuted to death, according to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department officials.

A team of officials from TANGEDCO, the state-run electricity generation and distribution corporation, and the Revenue department inspected the spot and a team of veterinarians conducted an autopsy and stated electrocution as the cause of the animal's death.