Animal handler dies after fatal blow

Animal handler dies after fatal blow

MALAYSIA: An animal trainer was fatally struck by an elephant just a week after getting the job with a circus in Malaysia, a news report said on Monday.

The 40-year-old Indonesian, identified as Amanat, was accidentally hit in the abdomen by the elephant's trunk during a training session last Wednesday in Sandakan, in Malaysian Borneo, The Star newspaper reported.

The trainer underwent surgery at a hospital but died on Saturday, circus owner Paul Lee was cited as saying.

The Star said that Amanat, from Indonesia's central Java island, began work at the circus one week before he was hit by the elephant. -- AP