Two men were trampled to death by wild elephants in eastern India who were then chased down by forest officials on Friday (January 4).

The men were trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants at separate places in Chhattisgarh state's Surajpur district, officials said on Saturday.

BP Singh - a Divisional Forest Officer (Surajpur division) - said both the incidents occurred near Surajpur town on Friday,

One of the incidents took place near Shivprasad Nagar village where 52-year-old Ramlal Jaiswal was trampled when he had gone to relieve himself in a nearby farm.

Subsequently, the herd went on a rampage and damaged three houses and a motorcycle, said the authorities.

Forest personnel and villagers later chased down the herd in an attempt to disperse them into the forest.

Consequently, an elderly man named Ram Lakhan Sahu, 70, came face to face with the rampaging herd who killed him on the spot, BP Singh said.

Kin of the deceased persons were provided immediate relief of 25,000 rupees each, while further remaining compensation will be given upon completion of all formalities, the forest officer added.