Eight elephants killed by train in Assam

At least eight elephants were killed, and one was injured, after a herd of jumbos was hit by the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam’s Hojai district early Saturday.

Five coaches and the train’s engine also derailed. Initially, all eight elephants were reported to have been killed, though later it was said that one of the calves was found injured. No passengers were injured in the accident, which occurred at 2.17 am, officials said.

In a separate incident in West Bengal, three persons died and three others were injured after being hit by a train amid dense fog on Saturday, while travelling to attend Prime Minister NarendraModi’s rally at Taherpur in West Bengal’s Nadia district.

The incident occurred between Taherpur and Badkulla railway stations under the Sealdah-Krishnanagar section of Eastern Railway, he said. Modi, whose helicopter could not land at Taherpur due to dense fog and low visibility, condoled the death of the “BJP workers” in his virtual address from Kolkata airport.

Several trains have been cancelled in Assam, regulated or short-terminated following the mishap due to the movement of the tuskers on the tracks.  Nagaon Divisional Forest Officer SuhasKadam said that the accident in Changjurai village is suspected to have occurred due to heavy fog in the area. 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.

The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram’s Sairang (near Aizawl) to the Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi.