VIDEO: Man Crushed To Death By Wild Elephant While Attempting Selfie

An elephant reportedly crushed an Indian man to death as he attempted to take a selfie with the wild creature in Odisha's Sundargarh district on Saturday. Onlookers captured the incident on video.

The man was identified as 54-year-old Ashok Bharti, a forest official told India Times Sunday. Bharti was a resident of Cuttack but was working for a private industry in Sundargarh at the time of the incident. The elephant crushed him in the Mandiakudar area of the Indian district of Rourkela.

Bharti was reportedly under the influence of alcohol when he approached the wild elephant for a selfie, according to the Daily Mail, at which time the animal became agitated by his advances. In the video, the man is seen running for his life as he tried to escape the animal’s path.

"We were trying to drive away the tusker with the help of local people," the official said. "But suddenly a person present there among locals, went nearer to the tusker and tried to take a photograph of the elephant on his mobile phone. He was also trying to take a selfie with the elephant when it turned on him."

"As per the provisions, we will provide compensation to the family of the deceased," JK Mohanty, the Assistant Conservator of Forest, Rourkela, told the India Times.

The video footage showed Bharti tripping as he tried to escape the elephant. The elephant is seen running over Bharti as he suffered severe injuries. Onlookers called an ambulance to the scene but Bharti died on his way to the hospital.

The incident occurred Saturday morning as forest rangers attempted to rescue the elephant. Philip Sahu, an assistant conservator of the forest said that forest officials tried to get the elephant back to its heard when Bharti wondered too close.

"Forest officials were trying to chase the elephant back to the herd when Bharti came too close to the animal to take a selfie," Sahu told Daily Mail.

He added: "The animal was nervous as it had strayed away from his family and when the man came too close to it, the elephant in its rescue attacked him."

In July, a herd of elephants — which often cause panic at villages near Rourkela — killed at least three victims, including a woman and her son.

In June, an elephant injured a man in Dhenkanal while he tried to take a picture. The man, identified as Abhisekh Nayak of Masania village in the Dhenkanal district, sought medical attention to treat his injuries.

Local politician and chairman of Smt. Nandini Satpathy Memorial Trust (SNSMT) Suparno Satpathy, said the people of Masania village were on high alert for the past two days after a herd of elephants wandered near their village.

"Without realising the risk involved, Abhisekh went to one of the wild elephants to snap a moment with him," Satpathy told Hindustan Times in June. "Getting intimidated, the tusker went violent and chased Abhisekh while he moved too close to click a selfie. The elephant charged at him and attacked him."