About twenty injured by an elephant attack during a festival in India

At least 17 people have been injuredone of them seriously, due to the attack of an elephant during a festival in a mosque in the district of Malapuram, in the state of Kerala, located in southern India.

Hundreds of people had gathered to attend the Puthiyangadi festival in Tirur. During the celebration, in which five elephants were present, one of the animals attacked several people who were in the crowd due to the inability of his caretakers to keep him under control.

In images broadcast by various media outlets, you can see how the elephant in question, called Pakkathu Sreekuttan, lifts a man off the ground and shakes him before throwing it into the air.

That man, according to medical sources, is in critical condition and has been urgently admitted to a hospital in Kotakkal. The images also show how the crowd panics and runs away from the elephant, which has caused most of the injuries, according to information from the NDTV television network.

Several of those present have tried control the elephant with chainsalthough the authorities have indicated that it took more than two hours to capture him.