In a tragic incident, four elephants including an elephant calf have died in a train accident near Madu in the wee hours of this morning (17).
The herd was walking across a newly upgraded railway line that runs through a jungle area when the accident occurred at Cheddikulam, about 260km north of Colombo. “One of the baby elephants was dragged about 300m along the track after being hit,” a local police official told AFP, adding that it was thought to be Sri Lanka’s worst accident involving the animals. No passengers were injured in the collision.
The accident occurred between railway stations in Madu and Chettikulam area in Vavuniya district.
The police in Parayanankulam and the Wild Life Department have launched investigations into the incident.
(With inputs from AFP)
