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Eight elephants were killed early Saturday when a DelhiA passenger train hits a herd in India’s northeastern state AssamRailway officials said.
The collision occurred at around 2.17 am local time in Assam’s Hojai district at a spot not designated as an elephant corridor, local officials said.
Officials said the engine and five coaches of the Rajdhani Express derailed due to the collision, although no passengers were injured.
After seeing the herd, the train driver applied emergency brakes, but the collision could not be avoided as the elephants moved towards the tracks, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said in a statement.
India’s state radio broadcaster Akashvani said dense fog in the area could also have caused the accident.
Rail services were disrupted in Assam and parts of Northeast India due to the derailment and the presence of elephant carcasses on the tracks. Officials said passengers of the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated on vacant berths in other coaches.
“Trains passing through that section are being diverted from another line. Restoration work is underway,” NFR said.
District Superintendent of Police VV Rakesh Reddy said, “Rescue teams are present at the spot. The coaches of the Rajdhani Express have been attached to another engine and have now left the station.” Indian Express,
The incident has once again highlighted India’s long-running human-wildlife conflict, especially the conflict between trains and elephants.
India’s environment ministry told Parliament earlier this year that about 80 wild elephants across the country were likely to die after being hit by trains between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
These included three elephants, including a mother and calf, who were killed in July when a speeding train collided with the herd near West Midnapore district in the eastern state of West Bengal.
The problem is particularly acute in northeastern India, where dozens of elephants are killed by train collisions each year.
After the July incident, officials described the deaths as part of a recurring pattern and said the environment and railway ministries were working to prevent such accidents. Measures include speed restrictions in sensitive areas and the use of seismic sensors to detect elephants near tracks.
In some areas, including Tamil Nadu in southern India, forest and railway authorities have also begun operating AI-based detection systems and sensor networks designed to identify elephants and alert train drivers to slow down.