New Delhi, Dec 20, (dpa/GNA) – At least seven wild elephants have been killed, in a collision with an express train in eastern India.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, chief minister of the state of Assam, wrote on X on Saturday that the news of the death of three adult animals and four calves “deeply saddened” him.
Another calf from the herd was injured in the accident which occurred during the night, according to reports by NDTV and other Indian media outlets.
According to the reports, the train driver applied the emergency brakes when he saw a herd of elephants on the tracks. However, some animals were hit by the train. The force of the impact caused the train to derail, but none of the passengers were injured.
The herd consisted of about 100 animals that were trying to cross the tracks, according to the reports. The train was travelling from Assam to the capital New Delhi in the north of the country.
Sarma ordered an investigation into the “deeply disturbing accident.” Steps should be taken to make Assam’s wildlife corridors safer,he said.
The Assam Forest Department said a study last year counted 5,828 wild elephants, with a healthy population throughout the state.
Collisions between trains and elephants occur repeatedly in India. In August, the Ministry of Environment informed parliament that at least 79 elephants had died as a result of such accidents in the past five years, NDTV reported.
GNA