PALAKKAD: A male wild elephant which was hit by a train on the B line at the Walayar Pudussery section just past Kanjikode succumbed to the injuries on Sunday.
The passenger train from Palakkad town Tiruchirapalli (Train No. 56712) hit the 25-year old elephant at around 8km from Palakkad (towards Coimbatore) on Sunday 7.10 AM on the B line.
The train was brought back to the Kanjikode station as the elephant had fallen on the tracks. The train was later dispatched through the A line. The elephant carcass was removed with a JCB at around 12.15 PM. The traffic on the B line was restored subsequently.
The tusker was constantly seen on the tracks during the last two weeks after a herd of five wild elephants came down from the forests in search of fodder and water. Since the nearby paddy fields were ripe for harvest, the elephants were also feeding on them. Reportedly, the embankments on either side of the tracks are steep and the wild elephants are trapped on the tracks when they see an approaching train.