Baby elephant survives motorcycle accident after getting CPR

• The baby elephant was crossing the road when a motorcycle struck it
• Rescue worker mana was called to the site to give the animal CPR
• It was the first time in Mana's 26-year career to give CPR to an animal

BANGKOK, THAILAND: A baby elephant was crossing a busy road when it suddenly got struck by a motorcycle and lost consciousness. 

People rushed to the site of the accident to help the baby elephant but found out that it had stopped breathing.

Rescue worker Mana Srivate, who had been associated with his job for 26 years, was called into action while off duty on a road trip late on Sunday.

In a video that went viral on social media in Thailand on Monday, Mana is seen giving two-handed compressions to a small elephant lying on its side as colleagues a few metres away treat a dazed and injured motorcycle rider on the floor.

Both the rider and elephant were recovering and neither had serious injuries.

“It’s my instinct to save lives, but I was worried the whole time because I can hear the mother and other elephants calling for the baby,” Mana told Reuters by phone.

“I assumed where an elephant heart would be located based on human theory and a video clip I saw online,” he said.

“When the baby elephant starting to move, I almost cried.”

The elephant stood up after about 10 minutes and was taken to another location for treatment, before being returned to the scene of the accident in the hope of being reunited with its mother.

The elephants soon returned when the mother heard her baby calling out, Mana said.

Despite having dealt with dozens of road traffic accidents involving humans, Mana said the elephant was the only victim he had managed to revive while performing Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).