A sub-adult male elephant that fell into an old unused septic tank in Palappilly village near Chalakudy here on Thursday morning died due to the injuries suffered in the incident, forest officials said.

The incident occurred around 8.30 am and by around noon the elephant had died, a senior forest official said.

The pachyderm is suspected to have died due to the injuries to its neck when it fell inside the septic tank, the official said.

"The exact cause of death can be confirmed only after a post-mortem is carried out," the official said, adding that currently the forest officials were trying to pull out the carcass from the septic tank.

The trapped elephant was part of a herd that was pushed back into the forest, the official said.

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