Elephant causes chaos on Kerala highway, injures mahout

India Nov 26, 2025

An elephant named Vylassery Arjunan broke free during transport near Vempally, Kerala on Wednesday, panicking the area for over two hours.
Startled by traffic while being moved after a temple festival, the elephant's safety chains loosened, and it ran loose on MC Road.

Traffic halted, mahout injured—finally brought under control

The elephant overturned ad boards and injured its chief mahout, Salim, who had to be hospitalized.
Traffic was at a standstill for nearly an hour as two mahouts struggled to calm the animal.
It took extra help from teams in nearby towns to finally subdue and tie the elephant safely to a tree.
The whole episode is a reminder of how tricky—and risky—moving wild animals through busy areas can be.