KHOWAI: A full-grown elephant was severely injured after allegedly being hit by a speeding train in Tripura's Khowai district, an official said on Sunday.
District Forest Officer (DFO) Akshay Balu Bhorde stated that the elephant was bleeding profusely following the accident that happened on Saturday night. It was given preliminary treatment, and a team from the state veterinary hospital was sent to the spot, he said.
"A local train, which was going from Agartala to Dharmangar on Saturday night, hit the elephant at Champlai. The elephant herd was moving from one habitation to another when the accident happened," Bhorde said. "The train, which was supposed to run at low speed (20 km per hour) as it is an elephant corridor, might have crossed to 50 km per hour, leading to severe injuries to the elephant," he added.
Northeast Frontier Railway's CPRO Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, however, said, "It was not exactly known what has happened because the loco pilot is not aware of any mishap." "A probe is on to find out exactly what occurred on Saturday night," he added.
"After the February incident, we had asked the railway authorities to limit the speed while crossing the elephant corridor between Teliamura and Mugiakami. Last night's incident could have been avoided had the loco pilot operated the train within the speed limit of 20 km per hour as we had suggested," he further added.
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