7 elephants run over by Rajdhani Express in Assam

Seven wild elephants were killed and a newborn calf was injured early Saturday after a Rajdhani Express train hit a herd crossing the tracks in central Assam's Hojai district, officials aware of the matter said.

- Utpal Parashar

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said the incident occurred around 2.17am when the 20507 Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express hit the herd in the Jamunamukh-Kampur section of the Lumding division, about 126 km from Guwahati. The train connects Mizoram's Sairang, near Aizawl, to the Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi.

"However, there are no casualties or injuries to any passenger. Accident relief trains, along with officials from the divisional headquarters, are already at site," the statement said. It added that the collision derailed the locomotive and five coaches.

Collisions involving trains and wild elephants are not rare in Assam, home to an estimated 6,000 Asiatic elephants, one of the highest concentrations of the animals in India. Since 2020, at least a dozen elephants have been killed by trains across the state.

The NFR noted that the crash site is not a designated elephant corridor.