A MALAYSIAN logger has been trampled to death by a herd of elephants while working at a remote site.
The victim, 43-year-old Saidi Jahari, was found dead by his colleagues on the morning of October 29 in Gua Musang, a district in northern Malaysia.
According to District Police Superintendent Sik Choon Foo, the fatal attack unfolded in two terrifying phases.
Jahari, who was the site supervisor, and five of his co-workers had been sleeping in tents when, on the evening of October 28, they heard elephants approaching.
The group fled into the surrounding forest for safety, but Jahari was unable to outrun the herd.
When the others returned several hours later, they found him alive but badly injured, with both legs broken.
“They brought the victim inside the communal house for temporary protection,” said Choon Foo.
But not long after, a bull elephant, believed to be the herd leader, returned and attacked them again.
The men fled once more, forced to leave their injured colleague behind.
The group returned and found the victim was no longer there.
“Searches nearby discovered Saidi deceased on the exit path, with severe injuries consistent with being trampled by an elephant,” Choon Foo recounted.
Authorities have since alerted the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, which is working to locate and contain the herd.
Speaking after his brother’s death, Sulaiman Jahari, 32, described their last meeting.
“I did not expect that it would be our final meeting,” he said.
“Usually, he was quiet and did not talk much about work, but during dinner he was cheerful and lively.”
Tragically, Saidi had only been in his current role for about two weeks, despite spending nearly 30 years in the logging industry.
Logging – the business of felling and preparing timber – remains one of Malaysia’s most dangerous rural trades.
Workers often operating in areas inhabited by wild elephants.
This is not the first deadly encounter between humans and elephants in recent months.
In September, two British couples in Botswana narrowly escaped death when a male elephant capsized their canoes and tried to trample them after they ventured too close to his herd.
Video footage shows the animal breaking charge before launching a second attack on one of the women.
He rams her underwater, narrowly missing her with his tusks.
She reportedly survived only because the murky water obscured her from view.
That same month, tragedy struck in another part of the world when Israel Shambira, a 58-year-old elephant carer, was killed by an adult female he had raised since birth.
Moments earlier, he had filmed a video celebrating the animal’s 19th birthday.
A spokesperson for the reserve described the elephant’s behaviour as “unexpected,” saying the animals had been in a “relaxed” state before the attack.
“She was a gentle giant, which is what makes this so tragic and baffling to understand because Israel had been at her side since she was born 19 years ago,” the spokesman said.
“Israel loved and cared for those elephants as much as he loved and cared for his family, and they were 30 years of his life. We will miss him so much.”
