Elephant mowed down by speeding train in Assam

Guwahati, May 30 (IANS) An adult elephant was rammed and killed by a speeding express train near Gharial Dubi area in Bokajan under Karbi Anglong district, officials said on Monday.

Forest and railway officials said that the Mariani-Guwahati express train mowed down the elephant while it was trying to cross the railway track, among a herd of 5 to 6 elephants, late on Sunday night.

The impact of the train-elephant collision was so severe that the jumbo was thrown about 20 feet off the rail track and killed instantly.

The forest officials rushed to the spot and pulled out the carcass of the elephant on Monday with the help of a crane.

“Railway tracks in several vulnerable areas prone to elephant accidents and deaths, have been identified. Forest and railway staff and other concerned people are monitoring those accident prone areas while signages are displayed at vulnerable locations alerting the train drivers,” a forest official said.

Other steps taken to check the deaths of elephants due to speeding trains include cleaning of vegetation along the railway tracks to increase visibility, deployment of anti-depredation squads to prevent elephant fatalities due to train hits, and using trained elephants (Kunkis) to monitor the movement of wild elephants.

–IANS
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