IPOH, Jan 2 — A wild elephant was fatally electrocuted after crashing into a contractors’ cabin in Gerik, northern Perak earlier today.
The female pachyderm, which weighed roughly two tonnes, was believed to have smashed through the cabin sometime early this morning before it received a 240 volt shock from the electricity supplied to the cabin.
The cabin, located around 100 metres away from the Seri Banding army camp, was being used by contractors who were carrying out repair works on the site of a recent landslide.
Perak Department Of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) principal assistant director Wan Shaharuddin Wan Nordin said the Gerik Perhilitan office was alerted to the incident at around 7.30am.
“When we reached the site of the incident, we found the carcass of a female elephant, and we moved to control the area. Tenaga Nasional Berhad also shut off the power to the cabin.” he said when contacted today.
“After conducting an investigation, we found no criminal elements from the post-mortem, which was completed around 4pm.”
So far, Wan Shaharuddin said he was not aware if the elephant had interacted with any people during the incident.
He said the department would now dispose of the pachyderm’s carcass in accordance with their standard operating procedure.
Gerik police chief Supt Ismail Che Isa confirmed the incident happened at around 4am, and that no civilians or army personnel were injured.
