Two persons died and five others were injured on Tuesday when a wild elephant wreaked havoc in Hanumannagar Bazaar, the old district headquarters of Saptari.

The tusker entered the market place in Hanumannagar at around 9:30am from south-western part of the town, causing a massive stampede in the street. The pachyderm started attacking as some people tried to chase it away.

The tusker menace continued in the area for about two hours until the security personnel and the locals eventually chased the animal away towards the Koshi river. The animal is suspected to have entered the settlement from the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve which lies 15km from Hanumannagar.

Police identified the deceased as Roshan Kumar Jha, 22, of Hanumannagar-5 and Sanjaya Kumar Saphi, 30, of Hanumannagar-6. The two, who were critically injured in the attack, were rushed to Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences but died during treatment.

Three of the injured are receiving treatment in Dharan, while the others are undergoing treatment in local health facility. 

“We were terrorised as the wild elephant suddenly entered the settlement. The tusker attacked people as it could not find a way out in the narrow alley,” said Surendra Kumar Jha, an eye witness.

Meanwhile, the local authority announced Rs 500,000 in compensation to the victims’ families.