About 100 rescued elephants escape flash floods in Thailand

Flash floods swept through a popular elephant sanctuary in northern Thailand on Thursday, killing two elephants and forcing the evacuation of about 100 more alongside dozens of tourists, amid urgent pleas for help.

Dramatic video and images from the Elephant Nature Park near the city of Chiang Mai showed dozens of elephants wading through belly-deep water to find safety on higher ground.

“It was the biggest evacuation we have ever done to save their lives, the water rose rapidly,” Saengduean “Lek” Chailert, founder of Elephant Nature Park, told CNN, calling the floods the most severe the park has ever experienced.

Video showed park staff who work with elephants, known as mahouts, shouting, “Go go, keep going” as they urged the huge pachyderms out of their pens and through the high floodwaters.

While many of the animals found shelter on a nearby mountain overnight Thursday, come morning, Saengduean said the danger was far from over.

“There are some animals we could not evacuate yesterday. Thirteen adult elephants are still trapped in their quarters. They are panicking,” said Saengduean.

One of the two elephants which died was Ploy Thong, who was blind, Saengduean said on Saturday. Two others are still missing.

“My heart is broken. They were swept away by floodwaters before my eyes,” Saengduean told CNN. (CNN)

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