Stray elephants have killed a game ranger in the northern Ugandan district of Nwoya, state-owned conservation agency Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said on Monday.

UWA said in a statement that the ranger Scot Guma was killed by a herd of elephants on Sunday as he and a group of other rangers tried to chase them back into Murchison Falls National Park after straying into community land.

The conservation agency said Guma together with four colleagues had earlier promptly responded to a distress call that 30 elephants had escaped from the park and were destroying several gardens.

"While trying to scare shoot them, the elephants charged back setting the team on the back-foot chase. As the rangers tried to flee for safety and re-organization, Sgt. Guma, unfortunately, fell in a low cover ditch where they found and trampled on him leaving his body seriously injured," the statement said, adding that Guma died while being rushed to Anaka for medical attention.

UWA said Guma has been instrumental in helping to quell the human-wildlife conflict.