A female elephant was run over by a speeding train near Godgeri village in the Golahalli range forest in Khanapur taluk, Belagavi district, on Sunday night. The incident emerged in the morning when forest guards went on a field visit.
A herd of five elephants and a calf had left the forest in search of food and entered sugar cane and paddy fields by crossing the railway tracks.
The elephants fed on the crops and were crossing the tracks when the train hit one of them.
The elephant appears to have died instantly, Forest Department sources said.
Deputy Conservator of Forests B V Patil said the elephant was 20 to 25 years old but it was unclear which train had hit it. The elephant was later cremated after post-mortem.
DH News Service
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