Expatriates trampled by elephant during house warming ceremony

Two Indian expatriates residing in Qatar died after being trampled by an elephant in Kerala on Friday.

The incident took place when the two men arrived in Kerala for a house warming ceremony, during which the animal was startled by the bursting of crackers.

Narayanan Patteri (65) died on the spot whereas Murugan Ganagadharan (60) sustained major injuries and died on his way to the hospital.

The elephant was brought to the newly built house as part of a vow by the house owner and was scheduled to be marched to a nearby temple.

Patteri was the operations manager of Al Sadd Exchange. He hailed from Kannur while Gangadharan came from Kozhikode, in the southern Indian state of Kerala.