7 die as 'berserk' elephant rampages into village

updated 5:06 a.m. ET May 29, 2008

NEW DELHI - At least seven people were killed Thursday when an elephant rampaged through a village in northern India, officials said.

The victims had tried to surround the animal after it entered the village on the edge of the Jim Corbett National Park.

Belinda Wright, director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, said the elephant had apparently become separated from its herd.

'Shouting and screaming'
"The people have surrounded it and they are just shouting and screaming at the elephant and the elephant is going berserk," she said by telephone.

Wright said a member of her group was in the village and could see at least four bodies. She said the elephant had been shot twice by police but was still running amok.

The park, one of India's most popular, is about 370 miles east of New Delhi.

There have been a number of recent incidents in which villagers have been killed by wild animals as their natural habitats shrink and they have to range further for food. India's national parks also suffer massive encroachment from people who live and forage for food in the forests or graze their cattle inside.

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