DHAKA, Jan 11 (Reuters) - A wild elephant straying into a village trampled a man to death and injured at least 15 people in Bangladesh on Friday, police and forest officials said.

The incident occurred at a village in Lalmonirhat district, 350 km (215 miles) north of the capital near the Indian border.

"The elephant apparently broke from its herd and lost its way and entered the Bangladesh village from nearby Indian forest," one Lalmonirhat police official said.

Elephants, an endangered species in Bangladesh, kill 15 people on average annually in the South Asian nation, where in recent years their forest habitats have shrunk due to encroachment by the rising human population.

One of the world's most densely populated nations, Bangladesh has forest cover of only 17.5 percent. There are around 400 elephants in the country -- including 100 in captivity. (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Writing by Anis Ahmed; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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