Dhupguri, December 01 (Siliguri Chronicle) – Two elephants were killed and another was injured after a goods train hit them at Khalaigram near Dhupguri, about 45km from Jalpaiguri, early on Sunday.
Forest officials said the collision, which occurred around 4am, killed a full-grown tusker on the spot. The injured elephant was taken to Gorumara National Park for treatment. Another elephant fled into the nearby Moraghat forest, where it was tracked by the Binnaguri wildlife squad. Foresters later found its carcass in the evening.
Residents rushed to the spot soon after the incident. They said the tusker, after being hit by the train, managed to move nearly 200 metres before collapsing and dying.
“I heard a loud noise and ran out. An elephant had been hit by a train. It moved away a little and died soon. Another elephant was also injured,” said Faridul Islam, who witnessed the aftermath.
Basanta Roy, a local resident, was injured after he came across one of the wounded elephants. The animal struck him with its trunk, and he was taken to Jalpaiguri Superspeciality Hospital.
Forest teams from different ranges under the Jalpaiguri and Gorumara wildlife divisions reached the spot soon after. It took nearly six hours to lift the elephant lying beside the tracks onto a tractor trolley using a hydraulic crane.
Railway traffic inspector Shuvendu Roy said: “We reached the spot after receiving the information. Two trains had to be halted immediately to undertake rescue operations.”
Bikash V, divisional forest officer of the Jalpaiguri forest division, said a herd of elephants had entered Dhupguri from Mekhliganj in Cooch Behar district a few days earlier.
“A full-grown tusker died after being hit by a goods train. A makna (a tuskless male elephant) and another tusker were injured. The makna was rescued by our team and taken to Gorumara for treatment. The other injured jumbo crossed the Gilandi river embankment and moved into Moraghat forest,” the DFO said.
The official said dense fog and the fact that the accident site lies outside a recognised elephant corridor meant the train was travelling at high speed. “An investigation has been initiated,” he added.
In restricted forest zones, trains are required to move at 20–30kmph.
According to a forest department source, the herd of five elephants had strayed out of the Dalgaon forest in Birpara last Friday. Teams from both Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts had been trying to guide them back into the forest for the past two days.
Locals alleged that poor coordination between the forest and railway departments led to the incident. “The presence of the elephants was known to both the departments,” claimed Mosaraf Hussain, a resident.
The DFO maintained that low visibility and the location of the accident were key factors behind the collision.
