By TC News Desk
Agartala, 29th December 2024: A male elephant suffered severe injuries after being struck by a speeding train while crossing the railway tracks between Teliamura and Mungiakami stations in Khowai district, Tripura. The accident left the elephant with fractures in both its hind legs.
Khowai District Forest Officer (DFO) Akshay Bhorde, who visited the site late on Thursday night, attributed the incident to the negligence of the train’s locomotive pilot.
“An incident was reported at around 7 PM involving a wild elephant being injured by a train heading toward Dharmanagar in the North District. The train had departed from Agartala Railway Station and passed through Teliamura and Mungiakami stations before the accident occurred within a designated elephant corridor. Despite the railway authorities being aware of the need to reduce speed in this area, the train was traveling at high speed,” the DFO told the media.
According to Bhorde, the injured elephant, regarded as one of the healthiest and largest in the region, crawled back into the forest after the accident.
“Both its back legs are fractured. A team of veterinarians and forest officials are currently providing medical care and food to the animal. The locomotive pilot’s failure to control the train’s speed and promptly inform the forest department contributed to the severity of the situation,” he said.
The 100-meter stretch where the accident occurred is part of a known elephant corridor, emphasizing the need for enhanced caution and monitoring to prevent such incidents in the future.
