Six elephants packed their trunks and said goodbye to the circus in Seoul today.

The escaped pachyderms went on the rampage through the South Korean capital, charging into a restaurant and injuring one by-stander.

The chase began when an elephant bolted while taking part in a parade at Seoul Children's Grand Park in the east of the city. It was followed by five others, pursued by a team of zoo-keepers wearing blue hats.

Although the elephants were initially captured, three escaped again. Television showed one trampling on a small garden and another breaking a glass door to enter a restaurant.

"Three elephants came into the restaurant. I hid in the closet," Choi Yoon-sun, the owner of the restaurant, told South Korea's MBC news.

A 52-year old woman, Roh In-Sun, was taken to hospital after she was injured by one elephant's trunk as it charged into an alley near a primary school. "She fell, and I ran away because I was scared," said Lee Hye-ja, a friend who was with her when the elephant came charging towards them.

All the elephants were eventually recaptured. Police blamed the escape on the "carelessness" of staff at the zoo.

BRON: Times Online

Video van BBC News: Elephants rampage through Seoul