Three elephants have been electrocuted near a wildlife sanctuary in northern India.

Officials say the elephants were killed after they pulled down an electric pole and became entangled by the wires near the Dudhwa National Park. The sanctuary is located about 240 kilometers from Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

The animals were said to be part of of a migratory herd moving through Himalayan foothills.

India's wild elephant population is estimated to be around 26,000.

At a conference last month, India's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, said elephant populations are coming under threat from mining and land development, in addition to poaching for the ivory trade.

Ramesh also says elephants are not getting as much attention as other endangered species like tigers, because the number of wild elephants is only decreasing gradually.