JAKARTA, May 28 (Xinhua) -- A herd of wild elephants killed a woman and her daughter near a national park in Tanggamus regency of Indonesia's Lampung province of Sumatra island, a project manager of the park said on Monday.

    Six elephants from the Bukit Barisan Selatan national park attacked a four-member family that settled in a hut at their coffee plantation near the route of the protected animals on Friday night, said Nurcholis Fadli, the head of project manager of the park.

    "The six elephants came to the hut and attacked the family. The woman and her daughter could not escape, and they were killed," he told Xinhua on telephone from the province.

    Fadli said that the woman's husband and her son were safe from the attack.

    He said that the settlement of the family at the protected forest or near the park was dangerous, as they were potential to be attacked by elephants which always move around from the park.

    The elephants there are potential to kill people," said Fadli.

    The manager said that the population of the protected animal has been decreasing, adding that the number of elephants in the attacking group used to be about 60, but now there are only six left.

    The total population of the elephant in the park is about 5,000,according to the study conducted by the World Conservation Society.

    The illegal hunting has been blame for the decrease of the protected animal.