Udhagamandalam (Tamil Nadu), May 18 (PTI) A male elephant died of electrocution on Saturday at a village near Kothagiri in the Nilgiris district when it accidentally came in contact with an overhead electricity transmission line, authorities said.

The incident happened when the 15-year-old elephant tried to uproot a tree and in the process, a nearby overhead High Tension electricity cable snapped and the pachyderm was electrocuted to death, according to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department officials.

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A team of officials from TANGEDCO, the state-run electricity generation and distribution corporation, and the Revenue department inspected the spot and a team of veterinarians conducted an autopsy and stated electrocution as the cause of the animal's death.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)