A herd of around 20 elephants narrowly escaped from being hit by a moving train near the Machhyapur railway station in the Khuntuni Forest Range under the Athagarh Forest Division on Monday.
According to reports, the elephants were crossing a rail track near the Machhyapur railway station when the passenger train from Dhenkanal was running towards Manguli, Choudwar in the morning. Soon after the loco pilot of the train saw the jumbo herd, he immediately swung into action and stopped the train. The train resumed its services after all the elephants crossed the track. A major mishap was averted as no elephant was a victim in the incident, said a railway employee.