THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Kerala’s festive fascination with caparisoned elephants got a tragic reminder on Wednesday when a tusker gored to death three persons during an annual temple festival near Thrissur.

The beast went on a rampage for close to two hours, terrorising the area. The extent of the tragedy was lessened by the temple authorities who created bonfires at the temple entrance to block the elephant.

Unni Krishnan, one of the 15 tuskers lined up at the famed Koodalmanikyam Temple, ran rampage, chasing whoever came his way. As soon as the ritualistic line-up was over around noon, the elephant got irritated and gored Noushad, an onlooker who apparently tried to touch his tusk. His second prey was Kousalya, a 70-year-old woman who had come to attend the festival. Next to lose his life to the elephant’s fury was Nithish Neelakandan, who was helping to rein in the animal.

Unni Krishnan had created also a ruckus at the same temple in Irinjalakkuda last year. At least four persons were grievously hurt in the melee. Chief wildlife warden VS Varughese, in charge of captive elephants in the state,  has ordered a probe into
the matter.

Temple authorities insisted that they had complied with all the norms related to the exhibition of captive elephants. The high court had earlier banned the parading of elephants between 11am and 3 pm, but relented later following petitions from temple managements. The court had laid down strict guidelines for parading elephants during temple festivals, including Thrissur Pooram last week.