Koderma: A 55-year-old man was trampled to death by a wild elephant in Markachho block of the district late on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Kedar Yadav, a resident of Khandradih village under Paplo panchayat.Yadav and his wife were at a well near their house to start an irrigation pump set. Around 9 pm, an elephant appeared at the spot. The pachyderm lifted Kedar Yadav with its trunk, pinned him to the ground and crushed him to death before retreating into the forest. His wife escaped unharmed. Yadav’s kin were provided immediate financial relief of Rs 50,000 on Monday.Yadav was the fifth person to be killed by elephants in the district in the last four months. Markachho and Jainagar blocks in the district are witnessing a rise in human-elephant encounters as forest officials struggle to keep the herds away from human settlements.Forest officials said the elephant is from a herd of 20 elephants that has been moving in the area for the past three weeks. Divisional forest officer (DFO) Saumitra Shukla said, “Controlling the situation has become difficult because the herd is unusually large. Koderma is a corridor for elephants migrating between Nawada in Bihar and neighbouring districts in Jharkhand, such as Giridih and Hazaribag. Continuous efforts to chase and push the herd across these border areas have made the elephants aggressive.”DFO said two quick response teams have been deployed for more than a month, and two more teams will be deployed soon. Locals are being urged to use the “Hamar Hathi” mobile app, which gives real-time updates on movement of herds in their nearby areas.