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full screenFile photo of a decorated elephant during a religious festival in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2022. Photo: Eranga Jayawardena/AP/TT
A religious festival in Sri Lanka ended in chaos after an elephant in the Hindu parade panicked and ran amok.
About ten people are said to have been injured, the majority in connection with the crowd fleeing in terror. However, no one is said to have been seriously injured.
Videos on social media show an elephant keeper trying to hold onto the panicked animal by its tail, as pilgrims and festival-goers rush to the sides.
Elephants are considered sacred in Sri Lanka, but animal rights groups have for years raised the alarm about the cruel treatment of the animals and criticized the use of elephants in temple ceremonies.
Last August, several pilgrims were injured when five young, stressed elephants ran amok. In 2019, 17 people were injured when several elephants panicked during a temple festival in Colombo.