Phulbani: Three persons were trampled to death by separate herds of elephants in the jungles of Kandhamal district, forest officials said Saturday.
While two persons died at Damba forest in Petapanfa gram panchayat Friday evening, another man met the same fate at Paburia forest Saturday morning, they said.
All three had gone to the forest to collect firewood, said Manikeswari Patnaik, the forest range officer, G Udayagiri.
The deceased persons were identified as Bama Pradhan (63), Kirtan Bugarty (65) and Duri Pradhan (32). The incidents sparked panic in the G Udaygiri area, where people prefer to remain indoors, fearing elephant attack.
They alleged that the forest department did not alert the people regarding the movement of jumbo herds through their area.
Meanwhile, the forest department is tracking the jumbo movement using drones, he said.
