Coimbatore : A private hospital employee was killed by a wild elephant late last night at Thoppampatti on the outskirts.

Two youths aged 27 were sitting and talking near Ganapathi Garden last night when an elephant came down from a hill near the CRPF camp.

While the two took to heels, the elephant caught hold of Prem Karthik, hurled him down and trampled him to death. Prem worked in a private hospital in Kuniyamuthur in the city. His friend, Vignesh, who managed to escape, informed the the villagers who in turn informed police and forest department officials.

Officials arrived at the scene early this morning and recovered the body and sent it for post mortem to the government hospital.

The incident occurred just 3 km from Pannimadai, where a driver was trampled to death in the early hours of Monday, leading to panic among the people of the vicinity.