Thaindian News

Sep 24 (THAINDIAN NEWS) In a tragic incident, 7 elephants lost their lives when a speeding train mowed them down.

According to Sumita Ghatak, a district forest officer, the herd was crossing the track at around midnight in Banarhat forest in West Bengal when suddenly a fast train plowed over them on Wednesday. Ghatak said the news is shocking and this is the first incident when seven elephants got killed in a single accident.

“This is not the first time that such a mishap has taken place, although the scale with which it has taken place now is unprecedented,” according to Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.

A wildlife activist said that they have several times requested the railroad authorities to shift the train routes to other routes, or else they ought to avoid running the trains through forests after dusk.

Outraged wildlife activists, said that they have also many times complained to railroad to avoid fast locomotives running through the forests at night. Not only elephants but also many wild bison, deer, boars and leopards have lost their life in such accidents.

It ought to be mentioned that numerous elephants have lost their lives in India after being hit by fast trains. The concerned authorities should take strict actions against this otherwise we would slowly losing our wildlife species. Immediate measures have to be taken in order to avoid such tragedies.