At least seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed on Saturday after they were struck by a high-speed passenger train while crossing a railway track in Assam, northeastern India.
According to Indian Railways spokesperson, Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, the train driver spotted a herd of about 100 elephants and immediately applied emergency brakes but was unable to stop in time.
“He deployed the emergency brakes but still hit some animals,” Sharma told the Associated Press.
Initial reports put the death toll at eight, but officials later confirmed that one elephant was found alive, though injured, the Press Trust of India reported.
The impact caused five coaches of the train to derail. However, none of the 650 passengers onboard was injured.
“We delinked the coaches which were not derailed, and the train resumed its journey for New Delhi. Around 200 passengers who were in the five derailed coaches have been moved to Guwahati in a different train,” Sharma said.
According to local media, train services to upper Assam and other parts of India’s Northeast were disrupted as elephant body parts were scattered on the tracks.
