6 elephants mowed down by speeding train in WB

6 elephants mowed down by speeding train in WB

A herd of 40 pachyderms was crossing the railway tracks inside Chapramari wildlife sanctuary, when a Guwahati-bound passenger train hit them

 

PTI

Jalpaiguri (WB): At least six elephants were mowed down by a speeding train on Thursday inside Chapramari forests, around 18 km from the Banarhat area in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal.

A herd of around 40 pachyderms was crossing the railway tracks inside the Chapramari wildlife sanctuary, when a Guwahati-bound passenger train hit them, a senior forest department official said.

"The spot where the incident happened is close to Chalsa. So far, we have information about the death of six elephants. Our staff have reached the area, but since the herd is probably still close by and hiding in the dense forest, we are being extremely cautious in our approach," said DFO, Sunita Ghatak.

The passenger train is inside the forest as the carcasses are yet to be removed. Railway officials said a relief train has already left for the spot from Alipurduar to bring the passengers to safety.

On September 22, 2010 a goods train in Dooars had mowed down seven elephants, about 500 km north of Kolkata. West Bengal forest department officials had filed an FIR against the Railways for their negligence.

The seven elephants including three female and one tusker were crossing a railway line at Moraghat-Reti elephants' corridor near Banarhat railway station in Jalpaiguri district when the goods train running at 70 km per hour hit them. One of the elephants was dragged for more than 400 meters before the train stopped.

Meanwhile, Railway sources said train services between New Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar were suspended due to the incident near Banarhat.

The New Jalpaiguri-Dibrugarh Intercity Express, which mowed down the herd of elephants, is still stranded inside the Chapramari forests, they said.