(IN): Two elephants run over by train in Kerala

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http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200906041051.htm

 

Two elephants run over by train in Kerala

 

Palakkad (PTI): Two elephants, a female and a calf, were fatally

knocked down by an express train near Valayar on the Kerala-Tamilnadu

border late Wednesday night.

 

Under the impact, the engine of Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Mail got

derailed, disrupting rail traffic in the area for a few hours, Railway

and Forest sources said.

 

No passenger was injured and the train resumed its journey early this

morning, powered by a new engine.

 

According to sources, the speeding train, passing through a thick

forest stretch, first hit the calf and dragged it along the track for

about 150 metres before running over the adult elephant.

 

The adult elephant, believed to be mother of the calf, was cut into

pieces after getting trapped under the wheels of the train, the said.

 

According to sources, 15 elephants have been run over in the last

eight years by trains passing through the area.

 

Elephants frequently come out from the forests and cross the track to

feast on vegetables reared in farms in the adjacent village. Though a

live electric fence had been installed to keep them at bay, villagers

often complain that it was most often not active.

 

The carcasses of the elephants were later removed from the track.

 

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