Man trampled to death by elephant as family watches on

A man has been trampled to death by a wild elephant in Sri Lanka as his distraught family watched on.

The man jumped out of his car in Kataragama, near Yala National Park, in a bid to stop the elephant and hypnotise it.

But his "trick" spectacularly failed when the huge animal turned and ran towards him, knocking him to the ground as he tried to get away.

The elephant then lifts one of its rights leg and tramples him, crushing him to death on the spot.

The daughter of the man can be heard screaming and crying as soon as the man was trampled over by the wild animal.

The forest department in Sri Lanka is aware of the man's death and said that they are sorry for the loss to his family.

Officers are ready to help and support the family at this distressing time.

According to the elephant census carried out in 2011 by the Wildlife Conservation Department, Sri Lanka is home to 5,879 elephants.

The Sri Lankan elephant has been on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's endangered list since 1986.

Conflicts between humans and elephant have increased in recent years due to infrastructure expansion.