Six baby elephants have passed away trying to save one calf from falling into a waterfall.

Hell’s Fall waterfall in southern Thailand has become notorious among residents in the area after a herd of elephants plunged to their death in 1992.

The deaths happened after the elephants tried to rescue one of them who had accidentally fallen in.

According to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), officials were called to Khao Yai National Park when a group of elephants blocked the road by the waterfall.

Officials then discovered a body of a baby elephant at the base of the waterfall.  Another five bodies of young elephants were discovered nearby.

Two other young elephants were seen on a cliff edge nearby but officials managed to save them from attempting to rescue others.

The founder of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, Edwin Wiek, said any elephants left in the herd would find it difficult to survive as they rely on each other for finding food and protection.

“It’s like losing half your family,” Mr. Wiek said to the BBC. “There’s nothing you can do, it’s nature unfortunately.”

One internet user commented: “This saddens me so much, I can’t even look at that picture…. Absolutely heartbreaking.”

Another wrote: “This is the saddest thing I have read for ages. Poor creatures.”

A third said: “Heartbreaking to see this happen to such lovely, loyal animals. Could anything be put up to stop this ever happening again, or too vast an area to even contemplate?”

Around 7,000 elephants in Asia remain in Thailand but half of those are living in captivity.

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