Kerala | Mathrubhumi cameraman killed in elephant attack

Palakkad (Kerala), May 8 (PTI) In a shocking incident, a cameraman of a leading Malayalam news channel was killed in a wild elephant attack while reporting in this north Kerala district on Wednesday.

A V Mukesh (34), working with Mathrubhumi News, was seriously injured in the elephant attack when he and the reporter were capturing visuals of the movement of the strayed elephant herd, channel sources said.

The tragedy struck the hapless cameraman when he was shooting the visuals of jumbos crossing a river in a place located between Malambuzha and Kanjikode.

It is an area that witnesses frequent straying of wild elephants, locals said.

Though the reporter and the driver of the vehicle could manage to run away to safety, Mukesh was attacked and seriously injured by a jumbo.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital but he could not be saved, they said.

Hailing from Parappanangadi in Malappuram district, Mukesh had been working in the Palakkad bureau of the Mathrubhumi News for the last one year.

He had been part of the New Delhi bureau of the channel for several years.

Mukesh also proved his skills in reporting by penning over 100 articles in Mathrubhumi online as part of a column titled "Athijeevanam," in which he depicted the lives of marginalised people.

His colleagues remembered that his articles in the column helped invite attention of authorities and the general public to the plight of the poor and marginalised.

They also said Mukesh used to provide financial assistance to those persons whom he had mentioned in his column by collecting money from his salary.

He is survived by his wife.

Meanwhile, people from various walks of life, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan and ministers A K Saseendran, M B Rajesh, Saji Cheriyan and others condoled the shocking demise of the cameraman.