On World Elephant Day, a mother elephant and her calf were tragically killed on the spot after being hit by the Mangalore Express train in the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border area.
In Coimbatore district, in the Pudupathi forest area of Valiyar Sawadippara in Kerala’s Palakkad district, which borders the Tamil Nadu-Kerala boundary, a herd of four elephants tried to cross the railway tracks at around 11:45 p.m. At that time, the Mangalore-Chennai Express train passing that way collided heavily with the elephants.
In this accident, both the mother elephant and the calf got trapped under the train engine wheels and died tragically on the spot.
Upon learning about this incident, forest officials from Walayar and railway officials from Palakkad rushed to the spot and took part in rescue operations. Around 4 a.m., the bodies of the elephants were removed from the tracks using bulldozers, and the damaged train engine was repaired and taken away.
The accident site is located in the Kerala border area, about 300 to 400 meters from the Tamil Nadu border. It is said that the accident was caused because the train came along a curved track via the bridge after crossing the 'B' track of the Madukkarai forest range, leaving the loco pilot unable to spot the elephants in advance and control the train.
Forest officials are also conducting a thorough investigation into whether the train was operated at high speed.
In the Tamil Nadu forest area, on the two railway tracks within the Madukkarai border, elephant movement is being closely monitored using AI cameras and drones at a cost of Rs. 16 crore, helping to prevent accidents. However, wildlife enthusiasts have expressed concern that such AI camera surveillance is not in place in the Kerala area across the border.
In 2021 as well, three elephants, including a pregnant female elephant near the site of the current accident, were killed after being hit by the same Mangalore Express train. Due to this accident, major rail traffic between Tamil Nadu and Kerala was disrupted for more than an hour. Train services on the 'B' track were temporarily suspended, and trains passing that way were diverted and operated via the 'A' track.
The incident in which a mother elephant and her calf were killed after being hit by a train on World Elephant Day has caused deep shock and sorrow among wildlife enthusiasts.
