Kollam: A 46-year-old man was critically injured after being attacked by a wild elephant at Kulathupuzha in Kerala’s Kollam district in the early hours of Thursday.

The injured has been identified as Prakash, a resident of Kulathupuzha. He was returning home from work when he encountered the elephant near Dali.

The elephant grabbed him with its trunk and threw him to the side. Local residents who rushed to the spot managed to drive the animal away and shifted Prakash to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

Police and Forest Department officials have launched an investigation into the incident. Authorities said encounters with wild animals are frequent in the Dali area, which lies close to forest land.