A wild elephant died on Friday after being trapped in a muddy field for four days in Chhattisgarh's Korba district, officials said.
The elephant was stuck in the marshy field near Kulhariya village panchayat under Katghora forest division since Tuesday and a rescue operation started on Thursday after government officials were informed, they said.
"We tried to pull the elephant out of the slush using two excavator machines but it failed. After other wild elephants arrived at the spot, the rescue operation had to be called off. It was re-launched on Friday but the jumbo died," an official said.
He said it may have died due to starvation or cold weather and an autopsy had been ordered.