Elephant hit by truck, killed

LUCKNOW - An elephant was killed while its handler was critically injured after being hit by a speeding truck in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra district Tuesday evening, police said.

The truck spun out of the driver’s control along the Varanasi-Shaktinagar highway and hit the elephant, police said.

“While the elephant died on the spot, the handler received serious injuries and was rushed to a hospital. His condition is stated to be critical,” Superintendent of Police P.P. Singh told reporters in Sonbhadra, some 350 km from Lucknow.

“The truck driver managed to escape from the spot soon after the accident. Efforts are on to nab him,” the officer added.