A baby elephant that strayed into a minefield 20 miles from Kiran in the Batticaloa District last Thursday is suffering agony awaiting succour that is slow in coming, officials said yesterday.

An army officer in the area contacted Horizon, an NGO engaged in de-mining about this animal and said that the Wild Life Department needed Rs.80,000 to pay for a lorry to truck him to Ratnapura for treatment.

"Knowing how long it would take for a department to find the required money, we gave them the cash," a Horizon official said yesterday.

"But now we are told that the Wild Life officer from Polonnaruwa will not be able to get to the scene till Monday. Meanwhile the animal is in agony, unable to eat, with villagers who want to help nervous to approach it for fear of the herd."

He said that Wild Life Department intended moving the animal to Ratnapura where it had facilities to treat the baby.

Director General of Wild Life Conservation, P. Wijesuriya said he was not aware of the incident or of any money being sought to pay for a lorry to transport the elephant for treatment.