Five-months pregnant woman, 33, killed by herd of elephants in Indonesia

A five-months pregnant woman and her unborn baby were crushed to death by a herd of elephants in Indonesia.

Mother-of-three Karsini, 33, was tapping rubber trees with her husband Rasum when the herd of around 15 jumbos entered their plantation in Musi Rawas Regency, South Sumatra, on September 8 morning.

The wife took a pair of empty jerrycans and banged them together like cymbals, hoping the noise would drive away the elephants.

However, the racket only enraged the wild animals. They charged toward the couple and brutally trampled on Karsini and her unborn baby to death.

After the herd moved away, villagers collected Karsini's corpse from the forest.

Muara Lakitan Police Chief, AKP M Abdul Karim, said: 'It is known that the victim was five months pregnant. She suffered severe wounds on her stomach and waist, and her womb had shifted to the left. Her husband managed to save himself.'

He added that wild elephants were known to frequent the region in herds of up to 100.

Officers from the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) were at the scene to investigate, he said.

The police chief urged residents to stay clear of wandering elephants instead of trying to scare them away.

He said: 'Don't disturb them, don't try to chase them away. They are only looking for food. If you see an elephant, immediately move away.'

The Sumatran elephant is a critically endangered subspecies of the Asian elephant, native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Habitat loss due to deforestation and human activities, along with poaching, are the primary threats to its survival.

It was previously classified as endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. Its conservation status was changed to critically endangered as its population reportedly decline by at least 80 per cent in the last 75 years.

There are an estimated 1,500 Sumatran elephants left in the wild.