Seven elephants killed after being struck by speeding freight train

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

A crane lifts the carcass of one of the animals which perished in the collision


A speeding freight train has struck a herd of elephants in a densely forested region in eastern India, killing seven.

The herd was crossing the tracks in Banarhat forest in West Bengal state at around midnight on Wednesday when the train plowed into it, said Sumita Ghatak, a district forest officer.

‘This is the first incident in the state when so many elephants have been killed in a single accident. It is really shocking,’ Ghatak said.


The seven dead included three females, three juveniles and a bull.

It has since been learned that two baby elephants had been trapped on the tracks and the adults had come to their rescue.

Outraged wildlife activists said they had complained to railroad authorities many times, asking them to divert trains to other routes or avoid running trains through forests at night.

Animesh Basu, who runs the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, said conservationists have been urging railways to instruct drivers to slow down while traveling in forest areas.

Dozens of elephants have died in India in recent years after being hit by trains.
India's wild elephant population was recently estimated at around 26,000.


source: dailymail