Wild elephants kill children in Bangladesh villages

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, April 28 (Reuters) - Two children were trampled to death and a man maimed as straying wild elephants destroyed two villages over the last 24 hours in southeastern Bangladesh, officials said on Monday.

A girl was killed and six bamboo houses flattened as elephants ravaged a village near Cox's Bazar district town, 400 km (250 miles) from the capital Dhaka on Monday.

A boy was killed and a man seriously injured when wild elephants strayed into another village in the same district on Sunday. Five houses were levelled by the rampaging elephants.

In both the attacks, the villagers fled their homes but later returned with drums and firecrackers to scare off the herds of wild elephants.

Attacks by elephant have become frequent in Bangladesh in recent years, as their forest habitats shrink due to encroachment by people, forest officials say.

On average, nearly 20 people are killed by elephants in Bangladesh each year. (Reporting by Mohammad Nurul Islam, writing by Nizam Ahmed; Editing by Valerie Lee) ((nizamuddin.ahmed@thompsonreuters.com; +880-2-8330123; Reuters Messaging: nizamuddin.ahmed.reuters.com@reuters.net))