GUWAHATI, India, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Seven elephants were killed and one injured when a Delhi-bound train collided with a herd in northeast India early on Saturday, district police chief VV Rakesh Reddy said.
The incident in the Hojai district of Assam state occurred at a location that is not a designated elephant corridor, Northeast Frontier Railway said in a statement.
The locomotive pilot applied the emergency brakes upon seeing the herd, but the elephants rushed toward the train, the company said.
The collision at 2:17 a.m. (2047 GMT on Friday) caused the locomotive and five coaches of the train to derail, but no people were injured, the statement said.
“Trains scheduled to pass through that section are being diverted through another line. Restoration works are on,” the railway said.
(Reporting by Tora Agarwala in Guwahati; Editing by William Mallard)
