Attack: Two of the 'passengers' manage to flee, but two others are attacked by the elephant

    

A man has been killed by an elephant at a religious festival in Kerala, India, after the animal suddenly ran rampage during a parade.

Graphic video footage shows the moment the elephant throws four people off its back, and gores and tramples its handler to death.

The angry bull elephant is seen tossing the dead body around on its tusks, before turning on another bull, as crowds of men, women and children flee for their lives.

The incident took place in Cherai, Alappuzha district in Kerala, south India, as several elephants took part in a parade.

Suddenly, one of the elephants, a male, becomes aggressive and forces the four people on its back to either jump or fall off.

While two manage to flee the scene, the elephant attacks the others with his trunk and tusks, goring at least one of them.

As the other man escapes, the elephant's handler is brutally gored and trampled by the bull

    

The video shows the elephant trampling and tossing the man around like a rag doll, goring him with his rusks and throwing him down on the ground, causing fatal injuries.

After abandoning the man’s body on the ground, the elephant can be seen attacking a fellow tusker which was also participating in the event.

Fury: The angry elephant then moves on to attack another bull, and manages to first topple the rival over before driving him into the building behind them

    

The unsuspecting second male was caught unawares about the imminent attack from the rouge elephant, and he is thrown to the ground and eventually pushed into a building.

The building is packed with spectators, who are seen fleeing with babies and small children in their arms as the panicked second elephant tries to make its way out of the building again.

It is not known why the elephant chose to attack the handlers, but in general, elephants in captivity are subjected to stress and isolation which affects their mental and physical health.