US EditionHigh-speed passenger train kills 7 elephants crossing railway tracks in northeast India
The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express hit a herd of about 100 wild Asiatic elephants, killing seven and injuring one, causing derailment but no human injuries, officials said.
- At about 2.17 a.m., the Rajdhani Express collided with seven wild Asiatic elephants and injured one calf in the Jamunamukh–Kampur section under the Lumding Division, Assam.
- Forest officials say seasonal movement to harvest-time rice fields and suspected dense fog brought wild Asiatic elephants onto tracks; Indian Railways said the site was not a designated elephant corridor.
- The impact derailed the engine and five coaches, no passengers were injured among the 650 onboard, and around 200 passengers from the derailed coaches were moved to Guwahati.
- Rail services were disrupted on the Jamunamukh–Kampur section, accident relief trains and restoration teams coordinated with forest department and senior railway officials to clear debris, while trains were diverted via the UP line.
- Assam is home to an estimated 7,000 wild Asiatic elephants; since 2020, at least a dozen have been killed by trains despite fencing and wildlife detection systems.
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153 Articles
Seven wild Asian elephants have died after a high-speed train collided with a herd of elephants crossing the tracks in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, officials said. Another calf was injured in the accident early Saturday morning, they said. The statement said the train driver spotted dozens of elephants and applied emergency brakes, but hit some of the animals anyway. The collision derailed five carriages of the express train to Delhi,…
The driver applied the emergency brakes, but was unable to avoid the collision.
Some 100 elephants apparently crossed a line in northeastern India – with fatal consequences. Such accidents are not uncommon in the country.
In the Indian state of Assam, nearly 6000 elephants live in the wild. However, in the search for food, they have to open up more and more new habitats - and cross dangerous places such as tracks.
In India, eight elephants were killed instantly after being hit by a train. The tragedy occurred at night in the state of Assam, in the north-east of the country. The convoy struck a herd that was crossing the tracks in the middle of the forest. Under the violence of the shock, several cars derailed, but no passenger was injured. While wildlife collisions are common in the country, such a record is extremely rare.
The crash has led to the derailment of the locomotive, without any injuries.
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