This is the terrifying moment an elephant killed an onlooker who was making a video.

The man, identified in local reports as Mursleen, 30, allegedly tried to record himself scaring off the jumbo but ended up enraging it in Uttar Pradesh state, India on June 12.

Footage shows several villagers observing the wild animal in the grassy outskirts of Bijnor district before a man was heard screaming, sending the onlookers scattering away.

The deadly attack was not caught on camera, but local media reported that Mursleen was thrashed around by the elephant, which was said to have slammed him into the ground with its trunk and stomped on his chest.

Mursleen was rushed to a hospital in Moradabad City, but succumbed to his injuries.

Bijnor sub-divisional forest officer Gyan Singh said: 'The tusker likely came from the Kalagarh area of Corbett National Park.

'Efforts are on to push the elephant towards the Sahuwala forest range away from the populated areas. The elephant is over 25 years old and fully mature.'

Residents said the elephant had been causing disturbances in the community for three weeks. On Tuesday evening, June 11, it walked through the cities of Kalagarh and Afzalgarh and arrived near Habibwala village on June 12.

Police and forest officials were sent to monitor the animal when Mursleen reportedly went off on his own and tried to chase it away.

Authorities have warned the public to exercise caution and avoid approaching wild animals following the attack.

The sub-continent has at least 30,000 wild elephants - more than any other country and approximately 60 per cent of the world's entire Asian elephant population.