Two of the victims undergo surgery

Two of the three people who were bitten by a pig underwent surgeries on Wednesday. Their condition is stable, according to doctors at the hospitals where they are admitted. The third person was discharged after first aid. The pig had attacked them on Tuesday afternoon at the Cosmo Annexe golf course in Nandanam and was done to death shortly after by locals.

Two of the men were playing golf when the pig came charging, while the third person happened to be sleeping under a tree in Jothi Nagar near the Adyar River when he became a victim of the animal's rage.

According to S.S. Prasad, who was discharged after first aid, the pig, which looked like “a ferocious rhino,” was noticed around 3.30 p.m. when he and his golf partner B. Srinivasan were preparing to tee off the third ball.

“It all happened in a few seconds before I could even understand what was happening,” recalled a shaken Mr. Prasad. “I was bitten on my thigh and ankle. My partner tried to chase it away but it became even more ferocious. I think I fell down. The pig pounced on him and pinned him down. It was like watching a horror movie, to watch them rolling on the ground. The caddies were some distance away and I shouted for help. For sometime even they watched in shock. By the time they came to his rescue, Srinivasan was bleeding profusely.”

Mr. Srinivasan was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Teynampet.

He underwent plastic surgery on the hand that had been mauled. Mr. Prasad was administered anti-rabies vaccine and a dose of anti-immunoglobulin to strengthen his immune system. Even as the injured were being transported to hospital, the pig, about two feet tall, wandered off and attacked P. Thamizhmani (52), who was sleeping under a tree near the Saidapet Bridge. Thamizhmani runs a mobile ironing unit in Thousand Lights area.

“I usually go to Saidapet to wash clothes. Yesterday, I left home at 4.30 a.m. and after washing and drying clothes I returned home. In the afternoon, I cycled to Jothi Nagar to collect them. As they had not dried I lay down under a tree and fell asleep. Suddenly I felt something bite my foot and I kicked. But the pig did not let go. Only when the local people hit the pig with a log did it let go of my leg. I was taken by ambulance to Royapettah Government Hospital, which referred me to Stanley Hospital for surgery. Doctors operated on my leg today. Now I am better,” Thamizhmani said on Wednesday.

The carcass of the pig was sent to the Veterinary Hospital in Vepery for autopsy. Tamil Nadu Veterinary Sciences University officials said that an impression of the brain of the pig was taken and it was found to have rabies. Meanwhile, the Blue Cross Society of India registered a complaint against the residents of the area for killing the animal.