7 elephants killed after Rajdhani Express derails near Assam's Kampur
Credit: Special arrangement
Guwahati: The Sairang (Mizoram)-New Delhi Rajdhani Express derailed near Kampur in central Assam's Nagaon district in the wee hours of Saturday resulting in deaths of seven wild elephants.
The Northeast Frontier Railway officials said five coaches and the locomotive derailed at around 2.17 am but there was no injury to passengers.
"The loco pilot on observing the herd of elephants applied emergency brakes. However, elephants dashed with the train," the NFR said in a statement.
It said the place where mishap took place is not a designated elephant corridor.
The area is about 126 km away from Guwahati.
According to forest personnel, a herd of wild elephants, came out of the neighbouring hills and crashed with the train.
They said seven jumbos died due to the mishap.
Death of wild elephants on tracks, particularly during winter, has become a concern. The railway, however, adopted several steps and prevented possible mishaps in the past few years.
Accident relief trains along with officials from the divisional headquarters are already at the site.
Helpline numbers have already been activated at Guwahati railway station, which are 0361-2731621 / 2731622 / 2731623.
Senior railway officers including the General Manager of N F Railway and Divisional Railway Manager of Lumding have also rushed to the site, the NFR said.
The passengers of the affected coaches have been temporarily accommodated in the vacant berths available in other coaches.