Four elephants die after being hit by train in Odisha
(Sourced from PTI)
Four elephants were killed after being run over by a train near a level crossing under Bagadihi Forest Range area in Odisha's Jharsuguda district. The tragedy struck when the jumbos were crossing the railway track on the Howrah-Mumbai line near Teladihi in the wee hours, said Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) PK Dhal. Two tuskers and two female pachyderms were killed in the incident.
The impact of the mishap was so severe that the pachyderms were thrown away quite a distance, said an official. Senior railway officials rushed to the site and arrangements were made for removal of the carcasses. The traffic on the Howrah-Mumbai down line was affected following the incident. Some trains were controlled at different stations before normalcy was restored on the route, said officials.
Forest officials already urged railways to run trains at slow speed in elephant corridors. According to norms, drivers must limit the speed of trains to 30kmph while passing through elephant corridors and constantly blow horns to alert the jumbos crossing railway tracks.
