7 Elephants Killed after Rajdhani Express Rams and Derails
Five coaches and the train's engine were derailed in the incident, though no injuries to passengers were reported, a Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) spokesperson said
Guwahati: Seven elephants were killed, and a calf was injured after the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express hit a herd of jumbos in Assam's Hojai district early on Saturday. Five coaches and the train's engine derailed. No passenger was affected in the accident, which occurred at 2.17 am, officials said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked the forest department to conduct a detailed enquiry and secure wildlife corridors, while state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi blamed “unplanned and poorly regulated development under the present government” for the accident, according to PTI.
Top forest department officers have reached the site and will take up the matter with Railway officials to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
Several trains have been cancelled, regulated or short-terminated following the mishap.
Nagaon divisional forest officer Suhas Kadam told PTI that the accident in Changjurai village is suspected to have occurred due to heavy fog. He said the autopsy of the dead jumbos was underway, and treatment is on for the injured calf. “Cremation will be done near the accident site. Legal formalities are being followed,” he said.
The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram's Sairang (near Aizawl) to the Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi.
NFR chief spokesperson Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said the accident took place in the Jamunamukh-Kampur section under the Lumding division, about 126 km from Guwahati.
He claimed that the accident took place at a location which is not a designated elephant corridor. “The train driver, on observing the herd of elephants, applied emergency brakes,” he added.
The NFR spokesperson said the passengers of the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in the vacant berths available in other compartments, and the train, without the derailed coaches, left the site for Guwahati at 6.11 am.
Trains scheduled to pass through the affected section have been diverted through the UP line, and restoration work is underway, Sharma added.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sarma ordered a thorough enquiry into the accident.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of seven elephants - three adults and four calves - in a tragic train collision earlier today,” he said in a post on X.
“I have directed the forest department to conduct a detailed enquiry on this deeply disturbing accident and take steps to further secure our wildlife corridors, particularly during low visibility seasons,” Sarma added.
Assam forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, also in a post in the social media site, said the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Head of Forest Force, Assam, and the PCCF (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, Assam, have reached the accident site to take stock of the situation and initiate necessary measures.