A 25-year-old mahout died after being attacked by an elephant at the Kottoor elephant rehabilitation centre in Palode on Thursday. Vishnu, who sustained serious wounds in the attack, was taken to Aryanad government hospital, he was declared dead on arrival. 

According to the centre's officials, elephants are taken to the river to bathe in the morning and evening. Vishnu, who is the mahout of an 8-year-old elephant named Manu, took him to the river as usual. Suddenly, Manu, a mozha  ( male elephant without tusks), turned violent and hurled Vishnu into the river. 

He was dragged across the water and pushed into the depths. Four other mahouts were bathing the elephants when the incident happened. Though they tried to save Vishnu, Manu fiercely drove them away. Eventually, the elephant was reined in by other mahouts and Vishnu was retrieved from the river. He was badly injured and immediately rushed to the hospital.

Vishnu had cared for Manu for the past two years. The elephant was found abandoned in the forest two years ago. The animal was rescued and brought to the centre, and since then, Vishnu has been his mahout.

The inquest procedures are currently underway, and the mortal remains will be shifted to the Medical College for post-mortem examination, authorities said.

Forest officials said that Vishnu and Manu maintained a good bond and Manu has never shown violent behaviour. "The attack was totally unexpected. Manu has always been calm and friendly. We managed to retrieve him and administered CPR, but we couldn't save him," a forest department official said.