Killer Indian elephant shot dead

A wild elephant which killed 13 people in India and Nepal over a period of three days has been shot dead by forestry department marksmen in West Bengal.

The authorities said the elephant began its rampage on Sunday, crushing several people to death at a tea plantation in West Bengal.

The animal then crossed the border into Nepal where there were three more fatalities.

The elephant returned to West Bengal on Tuesday morning, killing another man, before it was pursued and killed by Indian rangers in the Darjeeling district.

Animal rights groups say elephants stray into areas of human settlement in search of food because much of their forest cover has been destroyed.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service