5 elephants killed by lightning in east India

Forest guards on Friday found the bodies of five wild elephants that were killed by lightning in eastern India, an environmental group and a veterinarian said.

The elephants, including two calves, were discovered close to a salt lick on the banks of the Raidak River near the village of Kumargram, some 500 miles north of Calcutta, said Animesh Basu of the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, a local non-governmental organization.

Dr. D.K. Poddar, who performed an autopsy on the animals, confirmed they were killed by lightning.

"Though it is rare for elephants _ or for that matter any animal _ to die of lightning, in this case the guards found all the five elephants dead in a sitting position," Basu said.

Basu said 16 other elephants had been killed in the region in the last year, including some that were hit by trains.

The area's administration transported tons of wood to burn the bodies of the elephants as thousands of villagers came to see the rare event.