A 56-year-old father and his 23-year-old daughter were killed in a wild elephant attack in the Moragaha Ulpatha area of Wilgamuwa, Matale, on the morning of May 15.
NewsFirst reported that the pair were riding a motorcycle when the elephant attacked. The father was transporting his daughter to her workplace at the time of the incident.
Police confirmed that the bodies were placed at Wilgamuwa Hospital pending further procedures. No identification details have been released.
Matale and the broader North Central and Eastern Province dry zone have recorded persistent fatal encounters between people and wild elephants this year, with 108 elephant deaths logged so far in 2026 under the long-running human–elephant conflict. The Wilgamuwa-Hettipola corridor in particular has seen multiple fatal motorcycle and pedestrian attacks in recent months.
The Department of Wildlife Conservation has been under sustained pressure to expedite electric fencing and corridor management in the affected divisions. A Court of Appeal hearing earlier this year examined whether the department was meeting its statutory mitigation obligations.
