Six elephants plunge to their deaths at killer waterfall in Thailand after trying to rescue calf

SIX elephants have died after tragically plunging into a killer waterfall in southern Thailand.

The deaths came after the elephants mounted a rescue attempt for one of their own who had fallen into Hell's Fall waterfall.

The waterfall has become notorious among locals in the area after a herd of elephant's fell to their death in 1992.

Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) said officials were called to the scene in Khao Yai National Park in Southern Thailand on Saturday at 3am.

TRAGIC PLUNGE

Officials were told a group of elephants was blocking a road by the waterfall.

Officials stayed at the scene for more than three hours, before finding a body of a young elephant at the base of the waterfall.

Another five elephants were found shortly afterwards.

Two other elephants were also spotted on a cliff edge nearby, however Thai officials managed to rescue them from the ledge they were stuck on.

Edwin Wiek, founder of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, said any elephants left in the herd would have difficulty surviving as the animals rely on each other for protection and finding food.

Mr Wiek told the BBC: "'It's like losing half your family.

"There's nothing you can do, it's nature unfortunately."

There are only around 7,000 elephants that remain in Thailand, however half of those are living in captivity.

It comes as a baby elephant collapsed from exhaustion as his mum is forced to give rides to tourists in Thailand.

The calf, believed to about a year old, was attached to its mother with a rope around its neck in Pattaya earlier this year in May.

The baby rolls on the ground as the mercury tipped 40C before standing up and scampering away to keep up with the adult leading the elephant herd at the Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens.

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