Wild elephant crushes woman to death

A wild elephant is reported to have crushed a woman to death while she was taking water for her household needs at a nearby river.According to Alue Keujreun community leader, Ali Hanafiah, the 35 years old Lisnawati was found dead after being attacked by the elephant on Tuesday morning at 7.30 am."She was found helpless and died on the spot," said Ali.Residents found that every bone in Lisnawati`s body was crushed and broken by the Sumatran elephant (Elephas Maximus Sumatranus).Ali said that elephants had been attacking the village in recent months; the huge and wild elephants also destroyed hectares of people`s crops and plantations."The local residents have tried to drive away the herd from their village by traditional means such as throwing fireballs made of coconut fiber and firecrackers, but its all useless." he said.Death caused by the elephants was not the first to be reported, earlier a similar incident was reported at 80 kilometers east of the South Aceh regency capital, TapaktuanIn late July 2010, a 30 years old farmer Salahuddin was also killed while trying to keep away the elephants from his garden in Gampong Alue Keujreun.Another farmer, Misbah, was also attacked and now being treated intensively for his injuries at the Yulidin Away General Hospital in Tapaktuan.Gampong Alue Keujreun is one of remote and isolated villages in Central and Kluet District bordering with Southeast Aceh district. To get to the area of a population of 383 people, the residents must use a boat to cross the Lawe Melang River in 2-3 hours.