Five coaches of a Rajdhani Express train derailed after colliding with a herd of wild elephants in Assam Saturday morning, leading to disruption of rail services.
The incident occurred in the Jamunamukh-Kampur section under the Lumding Division of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express struck a herd of elephants, resulting in the derailment of the locomotive and five coaches. However, no passenger casualties or injuries were reported.
Local residents claimed that the herd consisted of around eight elephants and that several of them were killed in the collision.
The accident site is located about 126 km from Guwahati. Following the incident, accident relief trains and railway officials rushed to the spot to initiate rescue operations.
Train Services Disrupted
Sources said that due to the derailment and elephant body parts scattered on the tracks, train services to Upper Assam and other parts of the Northeast were affected.
Passengers from the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in vacant berths available in other coaches of the train. Once the train reaches Guwahati, additional coaches will be attached to accommodate all passengers, after which the train will resume its onward journey.
The incident occurred at a location that is not a designated elephant corridor. The loco pilot, upon spotting the herd on the tracks, applied emergency brakes. Despite this, the elephants dashed into the train, leading to the collision and derailment.