4 baby elephants among 6 killed after train collides with the crew: reports

At least half a dozen wild elephants were killed after a passenger train collided with them in Sri Lanka, according to local officials.

The Srilalan police announced in a Facebook post That one of its Meenagaya trains – which had driven from the eastern coastal city of Baticaloa to the country’s capital Colombo – had traced after colliding with eight elephants on Wednesday, February 19.

No passengers were injured, and officers helped get them to another train so that they could continue to their destination, says officials. Unfortunately, six elephants died as a result of a collision, while two other elephants were injured and treated by wildlife.

A graphics shared by the police showed that several people walked towards the train as it rested on the side of the tracks. A second picture showed an elephant that went next to the train.

Hasini Sarathchandra, a spokesman for the government’s wild department, told Associated Press (AP) that four of the dead elephants were children and two were adults.

Sarathchandra also noted that the area where the train tracked is known for its natural park and said that the government’s animal life department investigated.

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“According to a statement released by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the Railway Department’s officials, police and wildlife coordinated quickly efforts on the site. Further investigations of the incident are ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the collision, ”reported Daily News Per CNN.

The outlet also reported that the incident occurred at night, about 23:30

According to World animals (WWF) Sri Lanka’s elephants are the “biggest and darkest” of the Asian elephants. The crew size of Sri Lanka’s elephants ranges from 12-20 elephants and is led by the oldest female or matriarch. ”

“Sri Lanka Elephants is protected by Sri Lanka’s law and kills a berry death penalty,” noted WWF on its website.

The incident comes a few months after another train collision in October, at least two elephants killed in northwestern Sri Lanka in the city of Minneiya, according to an AP report.

Minneriya National Park, where the train collision occurred, is “Home for the world’s largest known collection of Asian elephants.” It is also “part of the elephant corridor” that connects two other national parks and enables visitors to see “elephant herds” all year in the area, according to the park Website.