Subbulakshmi, an elephant of Kundrakudi Shanmuganathan temple near Karaikudi in Sivagangai district of Tamil Nadu, died as a consequence of severe burn injuries suffered in a fire incident. The female elephant suffered serious burns on Wednesday, September 11, and succumbed on Saturday. The 54-year-old elephant was gifted to the Kundrakudi Shanmuganathan temple in 1971 and was a darling of the local devotees.
Videos of images of Subbulakshmi's funal journey before being laid to rest on the temple grounds had gone viral on the internet thanks to Sivagangai-based handles. A funeral procession was held in honour of the jumbo and people were seen shedding tears as a crane lifted her, some of the viral videos showed.
But how did the fire that injured the elephant break out? Subbulakshmi had suffered 30 per cent burns when the roof of her shelter caught fire on Wednesday night. A short circuit was the cause of the fire, Manorama Online reported the Karaikudi Police as saying, in which the roof was destroyed. Subbulakshmi was chained when the fire broke out and couldn't flee immediately. The animal had suffered serious injuries across its body before it broke free of the chains and reached safety, the report added. A protion of the roof on fire had collapsed on her before she could free herself.
The flames were brought under control by the Fire and Rescue Services personnel from Karaikudi and the jumbo was attended by veterinarians from the Tanuk Nadu Animal Husbandry department, DT Next said.