As many as SEVEN elephants were mowed down by a speeding goods train in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal late on Wednesday.
An elephant carcass lies on the railway line after being hit by a goods train.
According to forest officials, five elephants were killed on the spot, while two injured elephants died on Thursday morning.
The seven dead elephants included three females, three juveniles and a tusker.
It is learnt that two baby elephants were initially trapped on the track, and the adult elephants came to their rescue.
At this point the speeding train hit the herd.
"One of the elephants was dragged for about 400 metres, while the other four died on the spot," Jalpaiguri DFO Kalyan Das said, adding that the two other elephants were severely injured.
"This area overlaps with the corridor of elephant movement and they often cross the rail tracks," S. Patel, chief conservator of forest North said.
"A large number of elephants were standing on the track, when the train rammed into them." The area has previously been identified as an elephant corridor by the Wildlife Trust of India.
"Elephants use this corridor to move between the Moraghat and the Reti Forest," Patel said.
The rail tracks are fairly high and there was no way that the driver could have missed the herd.
Normally, they move in large herds and Wednesday night, when the train rammed into the herd, a female got stuck with the engine and was dragged.
He added the other elephants, hit by the speeding train, fell by the trackside.
The forest department has already lodged FIRs under the Wildlife Protection Act against the driver and the railways, alleging that the train was running at about 70 kmph, in violation of the 25 kmph to 40 kmph imposed speed restriction in the elephant corridor.
Its the highest number of elephant deaths in a single railway accident in the country,which was a shear occurance due to negligence. Such an incident could have been prevented and also the 7 lives !!!
