Banda Aceh, Indonesia - Wild rampaging elephants trampled a farmer to death in western Indonesia on Friday, the second attack in as many weeks.

Salahuddin, 30, was fishing with a friend when they saw eight elephants coming to the river bank in search of food, said Muhammad Hasbi, the chief of Damar Buih village in Aceh province.

One of the animals charged, sending the men fleeing.

Salahuddin, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name, was trampled after he stumbled and fell, Hasbi said.

It was the second deadly elephant attack on Sumatra island this month, said Trisnu Danisworo, a Conservation and Natural Resources Agency official.

On July 15, a 63-year-old woman was found dead in Riau province after she was trampled near a palm oil plantation.

Only 3 000 Sumatran elephants are believed to remain in the wild.

The animals are threatened by their shrinking habitat, with jungles being cleared for commercial farming or felled for lumber.

They sometimes venture into inhabited areas in search of food, destroying crops or attacking humans. - Sapa-AP