A female elephant was reportedly killed when a goods train ran over her while she was crossing the railway tracks at Bamebari railway section in Keonjhar district of Odisha on Wednesday.

The elephant was about 30 years of age.

Official sources said a herd of six to seven elephants was crossing the tracks when a goods train hit the female elephant who was at the end of the herd.

The accident took place between 5am and 6am. Forest and railway officials said the low visibility due to fog might be one of the reasons for the accident. A joint task force has been formed to monitor the accident.

Earlier, a similar accident took place in July killing two elephants. Another accident took place at Bansapani in Keonjhar in May 2022 when three elephants were mowed down by a running train.

The incident had sent shockwaves through the state with the forest department and railway ministry deciding to work in tandem to avoid such accidents. According to the statistics, the state has reported 784 elephant deaths in a span of 10 years between 2012-13 and 2021-22. According to the state government figures, 82 elephants died in 2012-13 and the number of elephant deaths consistently increased and went up to 86 in 2021-22.
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