Chaos as festival elephant picks up teenage girl and goes on rampage

Dramatic footage shows how a Thai country festival turned to chaos after an elephant picked up a teenager and went on a rampage - as she posed for a selfie.

Nichanat Manucham, 19, was standing in front of the ten-year-old animal for a photo when it wrapped its trunk around her leg in Surin, northeast Thailand.

She thought the elephant, named Phan Thong, was playing but it then grabbed her body - hoisting her in the air and trampled a nearby food stall

Nichanat grabbed hold of the elephant's tusks as it went berserk, clinging on for her life and preventing the beast from flinging her around or trampling her.

The elephant - agitated by the heat and loud noise - smashed four market stalls while holding the teenager. After a two minute rampage, the girl wriggled free from its trunk.

Miraculously, she suffered only minor grazes on her right arm and was pictured moments after smiling and talking on her mobile phone to her mum. Brave Nicharat even apologised for causing a disturbance at the fair.

She said: ''I love elephants and I was standing close to the procession to take a selfie. The elephant stopped and it was touching my leg with its trunk. I thought it was so cute. Then it put its trunk around my body and lifted me up.

''I could hear the elephant breathing and smashing the tables. I was scared but I just could only think about holding on. Then people came to help me get down.

''I'm sorry that I caused a problem. I feel sorry for the elephant. It was not his fault. He was stressed and lost control. He didn't want to hurt me.''