Hero husband, 38, sacrifices himself to save wife from being trampled to death by wild elephant

A hero husband sacrificed himself to save his wife from being trampled to death by a wild elephant. Father-of-one Pichai Ngamphaeng, 38, was collecting rubber with partner Nuwan Maneenual, 39, when the beast charged at her in a forest in eastern Thailand. But spotting the danger, the selfless spouse began shouting at the jumbo to distract it. The elephant then turned its tusks at Pichai and ran towards him instead. Devastated Nuwan watched in horror as the furious wild animal trampled her husband to death at the rubber plantation in the Bo Thong district of Chonburi province at around 4:30 am this morning. Recounting the horror attack, the mother-of-two said she had been working at the plantation with her husband as usual, in an area where elephants rarely ventured. Nuwan, who had one son with Pichai, said: 'We were eating food on the motorcycle sidecar. He finished before me, so he went ahead and started tapping rubber. 'He wasn't finished yet when I turned around, facing away from him. Then suddenly, I head him shouting 'Uh-oh, uh-oh!' 'I wondered what was happening, so I shone my light over there and saw the elephant running towards him.' Nuwan said Pichai appeared to be fleeing towards her before abruptly changing direction in an apparent attempt to keep her safe from the raging jumbo. Another rubber tapper then rushed to her aid and pulled her away from the scene. Nuwan said she immediately grabbed her phone and called officials for help, but it was too late. She added: 'He cried, so I turned around, and then the elephant found him and stomped on him to death.' Police, park rangers, and forestry officials later arrived at the scene after the elephant had already left. They found the selfless hero lying mangled on the grass, which was strewn with his organs and lighting equipment. Maneerat Treewattananon, a ranger at Khao Chao Bo Thong Waterfall National Park, said officers had been tracking down the wild elephant using thermal drones the previous evening to drive it away from nearby communities. The conservationist said: 'Later, we learned that at around 10 pm, locals had spotted the same elephant walking around the area. ‘Unfortunately, they didn't notify the authorities, so we didn't have a chance to arrive and drive the elephant away from the area. 'Then, in the early hours of the morning, this tragic incident happened, and we were contacted and sent to investigate. ‘Our forestry officers mobilised again and searched the surrounding area, but we still haven't found the elephant that was involved. So we need to remain extra cautious and continue monitoring its movements.' Thailand is home to an estimated 3,500 wild elephants, a number that has increased in recent years but remains far below the estimated 300,000 that once roamed the country in the early 20th century. But the growing population has also sparked more frequent encounters between the animals and locals, as their natural habitat continues to shrink and become fragmented. Human-wildlife conflict remains a major threat, with local media reporting that 29 people and 30 wild elephants were killed in 'aggressive confrontations' across Thailand last year alone.