Elephant injured after hit by train in Tamil Nadu

A male elephant walking along a railway track was seriously injured when an express train hit it near Pudupathi under Madukkarai forest range here on Tamil Nadu-Kerala borer early on Monday, railway sources said. The elephant, about 20 years in appearance, was hit by the Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Express from behind around 1.30 AM, despite the train driver applying brakes on noticing it, they said.

Railway personnel, alerted by the driver, and some locals, who rushed there after hearing some noise, informed the forest department. Two veterinarians found injuries in the front leg, abdomen and rear part of the elephant which was lying on one side after falling to the ground under the impact of the mishap, and given first aid, they said.

A crane has been requisitioned to lift the elephant and assess injuries on the other side following which the further course of action would be taken. It was suspected the elephant could have come to the area after taking bath and drinking water in Walayar river in Kerala.

Local people said despite a warning board in the area, particularly in Walayar-Ettimadai railway section, to move slowly in view of crossing of elephants especially in the early hours, the train drivers some time don”t slow down, leading to such accidents. Nearly 30 elephants had been killed in such incidents in the last 20 years, six in 2019 within a period of 20 days in and around Madukkarai area.