India
Elephant Flings Man Across the Room at Festival!!!
Published
February 26, 2026
8:57 AM PST
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Absolute horror out of India — a festival turned into a nightmare when an elephant snapped and launched a man through a packed crowd … and the whole thing’s caught on camera!
Check out this video of the elephant — named Akkikavu Karthikeyan — zeroing in on a 26-year-old man named Vivek at the annual Valiyavilakku festivities in Kerala Thursday … wrapping its trunk around his legs, hoisting him upside down like a rag doll, then violently flinging him across the room.
What makes it even more shocking is that the elephant appeared totally calm a second earlier as another man climbed onto its back … but things escalated fast, and Vivek, who was standing nearby holding a decorative item, ended up taking the full brunt of the chaos.
Vivek was rushed to Apollo Adlux Hospital in Angamaly, where doctors say he’s in serious condition.
Temple officials quickly confined the elephant and suspended the ceremonies as police and a specialized elephant response team moved in to secure the animal and figure out what went wrong.
The terrifying scene is reigniting a long-running debate in India over using elephants in crowded, high-noise religious festivals … with experts warning the stress can spark sudden, unpredictable reactions.
