Eight elephants killed as passenger train hits herd in India’s northeast
Eight elephants They were killed in the early hours of Saturday. delhiPassenger train crashes into herd in India’s northeastern state AssamRailway officials said the following.
Local officials added that the collision took place around 2.17 am local time in an area not designated as an elephant corridor in Assam’s Hojai district.
The collision caused the locomotive and five coaches of the Rajdhani Express to derail but no passengers were injured, officials said.
In the statement made by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), it was stated that the train driver applied emergency brakes after noticing the herd, but the collision could not be prevented because the elephants were moving towards the rails.
India’s state radio broadcaster Akashvani said dense fog in the region may also have contributed to the accident.
Derailments and the discovery of elephant carcasses on the tracks disrupted rail services in parts of Assam and northeast India. Passengers in the affected carriages were temporarily placed in empty beds in other carriages, officials added.
NFR said, “Trains planned to pass through this section are diverted from another line. Restoration work is continuing.”
District police chief VV Rakesh Reddy said, “Rescue teams are in the area. Rajdhani Express coaches were attached to another engine and have now left the station.” Indian Express.
The incident has once again highlighted India’s long-running human-wildlife conflict, particularly collisions between trains and elephants.
India’s Environment Ministry had told parliament earlier this year that around 80 wild elephants were killed by trains across the country between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Among them were three elephants, including a mother and her calf, who died when a high-speed train crashed into a herd near Paschim Midnapore district in the eastern state of West Bengal in July.
The problem is especially serious in northeastern India, where dozens of elephants die in train collisions every year.
After the incident in July, authorities said the deaths were part of a recurring process and said the environment and railway ministries were working to prevent such accidents. Measures include speed restrictions in sensitive areas and the use of seismic sensors to detect elephants near the tracks.
In some regions, including southern India’s Tamil Nadu, forest and railway authorities have begun piloting AI-based detection systems and sensor networks designed to detect elephants and warn train drivers to slow down.
