A goods train bound for Siliguri hit and killed three elephants, a mother and her two babies, on Monday morning at Rajabhat Khawa in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district. The elephants were crossing the rail corridors when the accident occurred. The train services in the corridor were also affected by the incident for some time.
Railways and state forest department officials reached the spot soon after the incident was reported. The engine of the goods train was seized for inspection and medical tests of the loco-pilots will also be conducted to check whether they were intoxicated at the time of the accident, reported news agency IANS.
Earlier this year, the Railways had planned to install Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) on the tracks passing through the elephant corridors, to warn the loco-pilots of any elephant movement near the tracks.
This was not the first such incident in West Bengal. In August, a train collision claimed the life of a pregnant elephant. The Railways and the forest department have discussed several measures to prevent such accidents but the implementation of safety measures is yet to be seen.