A father who helped rescue a stranded wild elephant from a pond was killed by the animal just moments later.

Anan Chorawek, 53, called wildlife officers after his workers found the male five-year-old jumbo named Seedor Sab trapped in a reservoir in his orchard in Trat, eastern Thailand, on January 19.

Rescuers used an excavator to carve up a path in the pond's slope, allowing Seedor Sab to walk back into the forest. However, the bull returned just an hour later to continue searching for food.

Anan set off fireworks trying to drive Seedor Sab away, but the loud noise only enraged the pachyderm. It charged at him and trampled him to death.

Anan's wife called village officials for help following the attack. Medics arrived at the scene and found Anan still alive. He had a broken leg and was coughing up blood as he had difficulty breathing.

The orchard owner was rushed to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Suthon Wiangdao, senior forest officer at the local environment conservation office, said: 'At 11:30 am, officials and volunteers were able to successfully help the elephant out of the reservoir, and the elephant walked away from the scene.

'But at 12:20 pm, it was reported that the elephant had attacked Mr. Anan, 53, around one kilometre away from the pond. As a result, Mr. Anan was severely injured with a broken right leg, bruises on his body, and blood clots in his lungs.'

Wildlife officials said they Seedor Sab has rejoined its herd, adding an elephant monitoring team was observing the herd's movements.

Anan is the second fatality from elephant attacks in Trat province this week.

Just two days earlier, farmer Anukoon Khampraphai, 42, was also trampled by an elephant he crashed into. He was driving a motorcycle in the evening, but collided with the male jumbo as it was foraging near a road.

The bull was said to have gored the fallen driver with its tusks then trampled him, spilling his guts onto the pavement.

As of 2023, there are an estimated 3,084-3,500 wild elephants in Thailand. The population has been increasing in recent years, but it is still a fraction of the estimated 300,000 wild elephants that lived in Thailand at the beginning of the 20th century. The main threats to wild elephants in Thailand are habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and conflict with humans.

Though the creatures are usually harmless, there have been several fatal elephant attacks in recent weeks.

On January 3, Spanish tourist Blanca Ojanguren Garcia, 22, was struck by an elephant she was bathing at the Koh Yao Elephant Care centre in Phang Nga province. She reportedly slipped and accidentally grabbed its trunk, causing the animal to smash her against the rocky pool.

On December 15, farmer Thodsaporn Phiananukulbut, 45, was fishing at a canal when a bull emerged from the nearby sugarcane field and trampled him to death in Prachinburi province.