Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Exp mows down 7 elephants in Assam, 5 coaches derailed
Nagaon/ Guwahati (PTI): At least seven elephants were killed, and one was injured after a herd of jumbos was hit by the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam's Hojai district early Saturday, officials said.
Five coaches and the train’s engine were also derailed, they said.
Initially, all eight elephants were reported to have been killed, though later it was said that one of them was found injured.
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No passengers were injured in the accident, which occurred at 2.17 am, the officials said.
Nagaon divisional forest officer Suhash Kadam told PTI that the accident in Changjurai village is suspected to have occurred due to heavy fog in the area.
“Autopsy of the seven dead jumbos is underway, and treatment is on for the injured one by local veterinary doctors. Cremation will be done near the accident site. Legal formalities are being followed,” he said.
NFR chief spokesperson Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said the accident took place in the Jamunamukh- Kampur section under the Lumding division.
The area is about 126 km from Guwahati.
He claimed that the accident took place at a location which is not a designated elephant corridor. “The train driver, on observing the herd of elephants, applied emergency brakes. However, the jumbos dashed with the train,” he added.
Sharma said accident relief trains, along with top officials from the divisional headquarters, have already reached the site.
The NFR general manager and the divisional railway manager of Lumding have also rushed to the site, he said.
Helpline numbers -- 0361-2731621 / 2731622 / 2731623 -- have been activated at Guwahati railway station, he added.
The NFR spokesperson said the passengers of the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in the vacant berths available in other compartments, and the train, without the derailed coaches, left the site for Guwahati at 6.11 am.
The passengers will be accommodated in additional coaches, which will be added to the train at Guwahati, and the train will resume its journey after that, he said.
Trains scheduled to pass through the affected section have been diverted through the UP line, and restoration work is underway, Sharma added.
The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram's Sairang (near Aizawl) to the Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi.
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Kerala woman missing in Tadiandamol Hills found safe, brought back
Bengaluru (PTI): A 36-year-old woman who went missing while trekking in the Tadiandamol hills of Kodagu district four days ago has been found, the office of Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said on Sunday.
Official sources said she is safe and is being brought back.
G S Sharanya had travelled alone from Kerala for the trek and was staying at a private homestay in Kakkabe village.
She had set out for the high mountain range of Tadiandamol hills on April 2 with a guide and 15 other trekkers, but went missing that afternoon.
Earlier, the minister said additional personnel and drone cameras had been deployed to search for her, following Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s instructions to intensify the operation.
As soon as her disappearance was reported, five teams comprising 50 personnel—including police, the anti-Naxal squad, a dog squad, and forest staff—were formed to conduct searches.
With four additional teams of 40 personnel deployed, a total of nine teams were involved in the operation.
The young woman had last contacted the homestay by phone on Thursday, saying she had lost her way.
The minister had earlier said, “We are conducting the search based on her last phone location. Local tribal people have also rushed to help, and sophisticated thermal drone cameras have been deployed, along with an additional team starting today.”
