A tame elephant was injured after being struck by a tipper truck at Omaragolle in Melsiripura, police said.
The elephant was being transported in a lorry and had been temporarily unloaded onto the road when the collision occurred, according to police. A tipper truck travelling from the Dambulla direction struck the animal.
The elephant remained on the road for a considerable period after the accident. Wildlife officials arrived at the scene to assess its condition and provide treatment, NewsFirst reported.
Police said the driver of the tipper truck has been arrested in connection with the incident.
No details were given on the severity of the elephant’s injuries or on where the animal was being transported to at the time.
The transport of domesticated elephants by road is tightly regulated in Sri Lanka, and animals are periodically unloaded during long journeys. Collisions involving elephants — both captive and wild — are a recurring hazard on trunk routes through the country’s dry zone, where roads cut across established elephant corridors. Sri Lanka has recorded 180 wild elephant deaths in the first seven months of this year according to Department of Wildlife Conservation figures, with vehicle strikes among the causes alongside electrocution and shooting.
