Elephant killed after being hit by goods train in Odisha

Dhenkanal (Odisha): An elephant was killed after being hit by a goods train in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district on Saturday, police said.

The accident took place when a herd of around 40 jumbos was crossing railway tracks in Chinta Pokhari area, around three kilometres away, from the Meramundali railway station, a senior officer said.

The animal was hit by a goods train around 2 am, a forest official said.

Train services were disrupted till the elephant carcass was removed from the tracks, he said.

The forest department maintained that it had issued an alert to the railway authorities on the movement of elephants from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm.

The train driver, however, ignored the warning, the forest official said.

The cause of the accident is being investigated by the railway authorities, and the elephant carcass was sent for post-mortem examinations, the official said.

The forest department has also started a probe into the accident.