Two elephants have been mowed down by a goods train in Odisha’s Khurda district, a forest officer said on Sunday.

A four-year-old tusker died on the spot, while a 10-year-old female pachyderm succumbed to the injuries inside a forest close to the railway line near the Bhusandpur station at Tangi on Saturday, he said.

The incident took place when a herd of eight elephants was crossing the railway tracks and heading towards farmlands in search of food. The locals spotted the carcasses and informed the personnel of the Tangi Forest division.

The forest department and the railways have launched separate probes into the incident.

In the winter session of the Assembly, forest minister B.K. Arukha had said 14 elephants died in train accidents between 2016-17 and 2020-2021.