Chennai: Three female elephants aged 12, 18 and 25 were killed after they were hit by the Mangalore-Chennai Express at Mahendramedu near Navakkarai in Coimbatore district. The incident occurred on Friday night.
The elephants were hit while they were crossing the railway track near Marappalam Thottam on A-Line between Walayar and Madukkarai sections.
One elephant was found on the track while two others seem to be thrown off the track and on the ground below. The loco pilot stopped the train and informed the Palakkad division of Southern Railway to alert the forest department.
The train was stopped for a couple of hours at Walayar with the passengers and resumed journey later.
Sunil Menon, an environmentalist and wildlife student from Palakkad told IANS, "The railways should give guidelines to its loco pilots on the probable areas where the elephant herds are likely to cross the track and forest department can provide valuable inputs regarding this.
It is really unfortunate that three elephants died like this and there has to be a proper understanding among the Union government, forest ministry and the Indian Railways regarding this across the country."
The 12-year-old male pachyderm that died in the accident was without tusks, officials said. It was also revealed that one of the dead female elephants was pregnant with a 3-month-old fetus. The fetus was removed during the autopsy and the forest department disposed of the bodies of the elephants.
The Tamil Nadu forest department has launched a probe into the elephants' deaths. A chip from the locomotive was removed by the forest department officials to determine the speed of the train during the accident. According to reports, the locomotive that caused the accident was sent to Pothanur railway station for investigation.
According to reports, a technical team from Erode Division of the Southern Railways will retrieve the chip from the Chief Conservator of Forest. It is learned the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot will be booked under the wildlife protection act if they are found to have crossed the speed limit of 45 kmph.
Meanwhile. a loco pilots association from Kerala has opposed possible legal action against the loco drivers and added it will stage protests across India if the duo is arrested by the forest department.
(With inputs from agencies)
