A 69-year-old local man from ward 5 of Barahakshetra Municipality died in an elephant attack in the nearby Janjagriti Community Forest on Thursday. 

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Nabin Bhandari of the District Police Office, Sunsari, the man had gone to collect hay and firewood in the forest, where he was found dead. 

A preliminary investigation by the police suggests that he was trampled on by one or more elephants. A small herd of three wild elephants was sighted near the scene. 

Elephants from India that entered Nepal from the Bahundangi area of Jhapa have killed seven people in the eastern Tarai region over the past two months, said Bhandari.