China elephants kill woman and attack police

Wild elephants attacked and killed a woman in southwestern China before chasing police and investigators from the scene, state media reported. Police found a group of 14 wild Asian elephants near a pine forest in the Xishuangbanna area of Yunnan province where the woman's body was located on Saturday, the state-run Yunnan Wang website said. "An initial investigation showed that the woman was attacked by elephants," news agency Xinhua said late Monday. Yunnan Wang added that an investigation team was forced to "immediately evacuate the scene" when the elephants launched an attack. The rainforests of Xishuangbanna, near China's borders with Myanmar and Laos, are home to 250-300 wild elephants, according to Xinhua. The animals are generally placid but can attack when they feel threatened. In 2010, a man was killed by elephants as he picked peppers in Xishuangbanna, Xinhuanet website reported. A year later in the same area, a man was seriously injured when a group of elephants attacked him and two friends, the website said.