A Thai villager was killed in a horror elephant attack while foraging in a forest in Thailand.

Thongdee Moothong, 48, was trampled to death by the rampaging jumbo in Chanthaburi province, on March 1.

His friend Suwit Suwannok, 35, who had entered the jungle with him to collect rattan, reported his death to police at around 2 pm.

Officers found the pair in the woods some three kilometres from their village. Thongdee was discovered with a deep chest wound, broken ribs, and a brutal injury to his chin.

They wrapped his body in a hammock tied to a wooden beam and carried it out of the forest.

Suwit said they ventured into the jungle – a military artillery training zone – early that morning. They had agreed to meet up a designated spot.

He said: 'It happened at around noon. After I had walked around 200 metres away, I suddenly heard the loud noise of an elephant.

'I ran away and hid because I was scared it would charge towards me. When I was sure it had left, I left my hiding place and returned to our meeting spot. It was there that I found Thongdee already dead.'

Local district chief Prapit Yanpanya said it was the second fatal elephant attack in the area.

He added: 'We are seeking government aid to help Thongdee's family with the funeral. His body was taken to a hospital for a post-mortem exam before the rites.'

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 elephants are usually not aggressive, there have been several fatal elephant attacks in Thailand 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 January 17, farmer Anukoon Khampraphai, 42, was trampled to death by a wild elephant he crashed into, also in Trat province.

On January 19, Anan Chorawek, 53, was killed by an elephant bull named Seedor Sab at his orchard in Trat province. He reportedly 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.

While on January 31, forager Aphisit Yakrasan, 47, was brutally attacked by a tusker in heat in Nakhon Ratchasima province. He had been collecting mushrooms when the animal emerged from the forest and stomped on him to death.