Three elephants, including two calves, were killed when they were hit by a speeding goods train in in Odisha’s Keonjhar district on Thursday evening.
A big elephant herd was crossing the railway track in Bansapani area around 7.30 pm when the incident took place. A 22-member herd of elephants had been roaming area in Champua range for past few days.
While a calf died on the spot on Thursday evening, two remaining succumbed to injuries on Friday morning. Other elephants of the herd did not left the injured elephants behind. It made task difficult for forest department to go closer to injured jumbos.
The Forest Department has ordered a probe into the incident. The railway department would be asked to provide details of train movement on Thursday evening, a senior official said. During past 10 years, more than 35 elephants have lost on railway tracks.
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