Jorhat, August 25 (PTI): An elephant was killed after it touched a high voltage power line inside Katonibari Tea Estate near Mariani Army Cantonment in Jorhat district of upper Assam today a senior Forest department official said.
The elephant was part of a herd of pachyderms which had come out from Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary last night. It got electrocuted after coming in contact with a 11,000 watt high voltage power line passing through the tea estate owned by Assam Tea Corporation Ltd, said Divisional Forest Officer, Jorhat, Sapon Saikia here.
The elephant was thrown to a distance of 200 metres and fell into into a deep gorge after it touched the high voltage power line, Saikia said. An elephant corridor passes through the tea estate and generally the jumbos do not go towards the power line side after a similar accident happened a couple of years back, the DFO said.
The 27.8 sq km Gibbon Wildlife sanctuary is the home to over 50 wild elephants and other endangered species such as hoolock gibbon.
