ROURKELA: An elephant calf was killed after being hit by a goods train near Rourkela on Monday night. Two other elephants of the 26-member herd crossing the track sustained injuries.
The avoidable mishap in the Bisra range of the Rourkela forest division in Sundargarh district reportedly occurred due to a communication gap between the Forest Department and the South Eastern Railway (SER), sources said.
The forest department has launched a probe into the incident. The Rourkela forest division arrested an Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP).
Sources said that the goods train collided with an elephant herd crossing the tracks on the Howrah-Mumbai main line of the SER between Cabin A and D of Bondamunda near Rourkela at around 9.30 pm on Monday, killing the calf on the spot.
Officials of the Rourkela division were said to be present at the site, guiding the 26-member elephant herd to cross the tracks.
The control room of the SER at Bondamunda had also been informed about the presence of the elephants and their movement at the site, said Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF) P Ramaswamy.
He said that even if one train stopped on the spot to allow the herd to cross the track, the goods train that arrived on another track failed to stop leading to the mishap.
Ramaswamy said the veterinary teams were mobilised to treat the injured elephants, and their health condition is being monitored constantly.
The carcass of the dead calf was buried at a nearby spot after an autopsy on Tuesday.
Following the incident, other elephants in the herd assembled around the carcass and remained present at the site for hours with loud trumpeting.
The herd had emerged from the Kudurbahal forest and was proceeding towards Pokharabahal when the accident occurred.
By Tuesday afternoon, the herd had moved towards a forest location near the RS Colony of Bondamunda.
The incident disrupted train movement on the highly busy Howrah-Mumbai route. However, normalcy was restored after 2.30 am.
Meanwhile, train drivers on Tuesday resorted to agitation from 10.30 am to 2 pm at the Crew Lobby in front of the Bondamunda railway station, protesting the arrest of the Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) of the goods train involved in the mishap.
The ALP was reportedly arrested by the RFD authorities from the spot last night after the mishap. This is the second such mishap in the region in last two months.
On August 18, a five-year-old male elephant calf was killed after being hit by a goods train on the Rourkela-Bimlagarh line near Roxy of Barsuan range under the Bonai Forest Division (BFD) of Sundargarh.
To prevent elephant deaths, Rourkela forest division authorities have set up a communication channel with the SER. However, wildlife experts alleged that the mishap has exposed the poor efficacy of the system.