ROURKELA: Hours after being hit by a speeding train, an adult female elephant succumbed to the fatal injuries on Thursday in Rourkela forest division’s Rajgangpur range, about 40 km from Rourkela.
The elephant was hit by the train between Sagra and Sonakhan on the Howrah-Mumbai main line under Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway (SER). The incident occurred around 5.20 am when the Bhubaneswar-Dhanbad Special Express train hit the elephant which was crossing the track. After being hit, the injured elephant reportedly dragged itself on to the adjacent track and collapsed.
Regional chief conservator of forests (RCCF) of Rourkela circle P Ramaswamy, Rourkela divisional forest officer Jaswant Sethi and local SER authorities rushed to the spot and took stock of the situation.
As the elephant lay on the rail line, a veterinary team provided preliminary treatment to the animal. To provide further treatment at the nearby Sagra railway siding, the elephant was loaded in a vehicle using crane. However, on reaching the railway siding site, it succumbed in the vehicle, sources said. Ramaswamy confirmed the elephant died between 2 to 2.30 pm on reaching the spot and said postmortem was conducted following prescribed norms and the carcass was buried at a nearby spot.
An inquiry has been initiated to ascertain the circumstances of the accident and if the local forest or the railway personnel were at fault leading to the mishap. Shortly after the mishap, several prominent passenger carrying trains were detained for few hours and subsequently dispatched using the Rourkela-Jharsuguda third line, informed SER sources.
The elephant death on railway tracks comes amid tall claims of real-time monitoring of elephant movements using technologies, round-the-clock operation of control room and enhanced coordination the Forest department and SER.
The incident occurred despite the Sunakhan locality is earmarked as elephant movement zone after Gitanjali Express killed a female elephant in November 2013. In October 2024, a calf was killed and two other elephants were wounded at Bondamunda after hit by a goods train.
Two elephants were killed on the same rail route in February 2021 after hit by a goods train.