Train Collides with Elephant Herd in India

A high-speed train collided with a herd of wild Asian elephants in north-eastern India, killing seven elephants, including calves, and injuring another. The incident occurred in Hojai district, Assam state, on Saturday. The train driver applied emergency brakes after spotting dozens of elephants, but some were still hit, causing five carriages to derail. Fortunately, no passengers or staff were injured. Assam has a large elephant population, and local railway tracks are often crossed by elephant herds. The incident happened at a location that was not a designated elephant corridor.

A passenger train collided with a herd of approximately 100 wild Asiatic elephants in India's northeastern state of Assam, killing seven elephants and injuring a calf. The train, carrying 650 passengers, was traveling from Sairang to New Delhi when the accident occurred. Although five train coaches and the engine derailed, there were no human casualties. The incident highlights the recurring issue of train-elephant collisions in Assam, which is home to around 7,000 wild Asiatic elephants. The state has seen at least a dozen elephant deaths due to speeding trains since 2020, with an average of 20 elephant fatalities annually across India. Efforts to mitigate such incidents include the recent opening of an elephant hospital and the implementation of an AI-enabled surveillance system in some regions.

A high-speed passenger train collided with a herd of wild Asiatic elephants in northeastern India, killing seven elephants and injuring a calf. The train, carrying around 650 passengers, was traveling through Assam when its driver spotted the elephants crossing the tracks and applied the emergency brakes, but was unable to avoid the collision. The impact caused the engine and five coaches to derail, but none of the passengers were harmed. The incident highlights the ongoing issue of train-related deaths of elephants in the region, with at least a dozen elephants killed on railway tracks in Assam since 2020. Asiatic elephants are considered endangered, with only an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 left in the wild.