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Two elephants were killed after hit by a train along the Assam-Nagaland border early on Tuesday, officials said.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has set up a committee to probe the incident, which took place shortly after midnight between Dimapur and Khatkhati railway stations of Lumding Division.
While two elephants were killed, the rest of the herd blocked the railway tracks for several hours after the incident which delayed the schedule of many trains in the region on Tuesday.
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"Two female elephants, aged about 5 years and 15 years, dashed against the Dibrugarh-bound Rajdhani Express about four km from Dimapur railway station at around 12.25 a.m. while trying to cross the railway tracks," said NFR’s Chief Public Relation Officer Pranavjyoti Sharma.
The NFR has set up a four-member joint enquiry panel with the state Forest Department to probe the incident, he said.
He said that the inquiry committee will have Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer, Senior Divisional Engineer, and Senior Divisional Safety Officer of the Lumding Division and a representative of the Assam Forest Department as its members.
"Soon after the accident, the train was brought back to Dimapur and other trains in the section were stopped at different stations. The track was cleared at 4.25 a.m. after which normal train movement resumed," he said.
He said that permissible speed in the section 100 kmph and the train was running well within the permissible speed.
Sharma, however, noted that owing to the momentum of a moving train, it is not possible to stop a train even after sighting elephants on track. Sudden application of brakes may lead to derailment of the train which would endanger the lives of passengers, he added.
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