Speeding train mows down three elephants near Coimbatore
Top officials of the department including District Forest Officer T K Ashok Kumar have been camped at the location to conduct a preliminary investigation of the incident.
Published: 26th November 2021 11:43 PM | Last Updated: 26th November 2021 11:43 PM | A+A A-
The elephants, aged between 12 and 25 years were dragged by the train, the Mangaluru-Chennai Express (12686), for about a few metres along the 'B' line (old track) in Mahindramedu at 9.05 pm.
COIMBATORE: Three female elephants including two calves were knocked down by a speeding train killing them on the spot at Mavuthampathi village near Navakkarai here on late Friday night, November 26, 2021.
The jumbos, aged between 12 and 25 years were dragged by the train, the Mangaluru-Chennai Express (12686), for about a few metres along the 'B' line (old track) in Mahindramedu at 9.05 pm.
After being informed about the accident, the frontline staff of the department rushed to the spot and located the carcasses of the elephants.
Since it is dark, the sources said the efforts are being done to remove the carcasses from the track to enable the train to move on. The autopsy is expected to commence on Saturday.
Meanwhile, top officials of the department including District Forest Officer T K Ashok Kumar have been camped at the location to conduct a preliminary investigation of the incident.
Based on the information by the loco pilot to Palakkad and Podanur division railway, the government railway police have also been deployed on the spot.
Shortly after the incident, several locals flocked to the location to catch the glimpse of the incident. The last time an elephant was knocked down by a train on the Tamil Nadu side of the railway track between Palakkad and Coimbatore, was in March 2021. Similarly, a 15-year-old female elephant died in a train accident near Madukkarai on June 20, 2016.
A reply to an RTI query from the Palakkad division of Southern Railway said eight elephants were killed after being hit by trains on the two railway lines, A and B, between Kanjikode and Madukkarai from 2016 to 2021.
