Ranchi, July 27 (IANS) An old couple were found trampled to death, purportedly by elephants, in a forest in Jharkhand's Giridih district on Tuesday, police said.

The bodies of Khare Besra, 75 and his wife Curki Devi, 70, were recovered from Baragarda jungle of Giridih. The old couple, residents of Kumharlalo panchayat, had gone into the jungle on Saturday but had not returned and other villagers had filed a missing report with police.

According to their son, the couple was trampled to death by a herd of elephants roaming in the jungle since Saturday.

"Our parents were missing since Saturday. Their dead bodies have been found on Tuesday. It seems elephants trampled them to death. A herd of elephants was moving around the jungle which it entered after injuring three people," Sonwa Besra said.

Since its creation in 2000, more 1,500 people have been killed by elephants in Jharkhand.

--IANS ns/vd