An injured elephant was taken to a hospital 'after falling from an overturned truck' in Thailand.

The jumbo named Plai Pu Kham was flung from the vehicle while being transported to the Mae Wang district of Chiang Mai province when the truck allegedly toppled over while turning a curve at 9 am local time on September 5 .

Elephant owner Wichian Thongkhanasub, 33, said that he was cutting corners and had rented out a six-wheeler instead of a sturdier but costlier 10-wheeler to take the heavy animal to its destination. He added he had asked his cousin to drive the elephant to the Chiang Mai city centre to further save on expenses.

After the accident, the hapless Pu Kham was unable to pick itself up unaided as it was said to have been in much pain.

Wichian called the Thai Elephant Alliance for help, with a team of veterinarians later arriving to the creature sprawled across the grass and trumpeting in pain.

A preliminary check-up found that the elephant suffered a sprain on its right hind leg, along with multiple abrasions and bruises all over its body. The specialists said it would have to undergo an x-ray to check for any internal injuries.

A 10-wheeler truck drove into the scene at 5 pm to take Pu Kham to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center hospital in Lampang province.

Thai Elephant Alliance Association Director Teeraphat Tranprakan said the demand for elephants has risen as Thailand sees a resurgence in tourism after the industry was decimated by Covid-19.

He said: 'Elephant agencies are now bringing their elephants back into business and transporting them back to the city, where tourists are, due to the momentum of tourism.'

Thailand has an estimated 2,000 Asian elephants living in the wild where they wander freely among protect forests. However, there is often conflict when they come into contact with humans on roads and in villages.

A similar number of elephants are kept in captivity where they work in the tourist industry or get hired out for religious festivals and weddings. A small number still work in commercial logging.