A female elephant was killed near the railway crossing at Sunaripasi village in Keonjhar district after it was hit by an iron-laden goods train heading towards the Dhamra Port on early Thursday morning.
The accident occurred at around 4 am while a herd of about six elephants was crossing the railway track between the Nilakantheswar and Harichandanpur stations, the local Forester said. The train coming from Nayagarh was moving at a high speed which dragged the jumbo more than 250 meters on the track until she died.
Forest Department personnel detained the goods train at Nilakanthaswar and its driver was being interrogated for the incident. Train movements between Jakhpura and Banspani were disrupted for about six hours until the dead elephant was removed from the track and cremated.
The Banspani-Daitari rail link has posed a threat for elephants, it was made operational three years ago. Earlier, two elephants had died in a similar accident near Jurudi two years ago followed by the death of three more jumbos in train accident near Jajang last year.
The forest laws to protect elephants are cited and given importance only after such incidents and forgotten after a few days. The laying of train lines across the elephant corridors and habitats continues to be a threat to the the lives of jumbos.