Elephant tramples woman to death, then attacks her corpse at funeral

A woman was trampled to death by an elephant, who later came to her funeral, grabbed hold of her corpse and threw it in the air.

A 70-year-old woman in India was trampled to death by an elephant — and her corpse was then bizarrely attacked by the same beast at her funeral, according to a report.

Police said Maya Murmu had been fetching water from a well in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on Thursday when an elephant came barrelling toward her, according to the Print India. The tusked pachyderm had apparently escaped from the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, which is located in a neighbouring state.

The elephant trampled the woman, who ultimately died of her injuries at a nearby hospital, police told the outlet Saturday.

The elephant trampled the woman. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Murmu’s family was then performing her last rites before lighting a funeral pyre when the elephant allegedly returned and grabbed her body.

The animal threw the corpse in the air and then ran away, the local outlet reported.

Apparently, the family was able to continue the ceremony, and the elephant did not return.

This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission