Dozens Injured After Elephant Stampedes Through Festival Crowd

A stampeding elephant left at least 23 people injured and one in critical condition during a festival in India this week, and the terrifying moment was caught on video.

According to Marca, the incident took place during the annual Puthiyangadi festival in the southern state of Kerala on Tuesday night. Five elephants adorned with golden headgear and leg bracelets had been brought in for the event (the animals are regarded as symbolic in Hinduism) and were being paraded just feet away from the crowd of hundreds of revelers.

But suddenly, one of the elephants broke away from its handler and charged straight into the crowd. In the video footage, people can be heard screaming as they scrambled away, as the elephant proceeded to actually grab one person by its trunk and shook him in the air before throwing him back into the crowd. Moments later, the elephant's handler was able to regain control, but not before dozens were injured in the ensuing stampede.

It's unclear whether the critically injured man was the one picked up and thrown, but that individual is currently being treated in a local hospital for his injuries.

The incident is the second involving an elephant within a week. On Jan. 3, a Spanish tourist was killed while bathing an elephant at a sanctuary in Thailand when she was struck by the animal's trunk. Unfortunately, many elephants kept in captivity in countries such as India, Thailand, and Cambodia are living in severely inhumane conditions.

It's illegal to buy and sell elephants in India, which has resulted in a black market to traffic the animals illegally, with many captured from the wild. Per a 2023 Wildlife SOS report, India is home to approximately between 25,000 and 30,000 Asian elephants in the wild—or about 40 percent of the world's remaining populations—with about 2,700 living in captivity.