8 Elephants Killed As Rajdhani Express Derails in Assam's Hojai

According to a Northeast Frontier Railway spokesperson, five coaches and the engine of the train - which connects Mizoram's Sairang to Delhi's Anand Vihar Terminal - derailed, but no passenger was injured. Forest and railway officials have arrived at the spot and a rescue operation is underway.

At least eight elephants were killed and one was injured after a herd was hit following the derailment of the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in the Hojai district of Assam in wee hours of Saturday. The incident happened at around 2.17 am in the Changjurai area of Hojai. 

According to a Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) spokesperson, five coaches and the engine of the train - which connects Mizoram's Sairang to Delhi's Anand Vihar Terminal - derailed, but no passenger was injured. Top officials of the forest and railway departments have arrived at the accident site, which is located nearly 126 km from the state capital of Guwahati, and a rescue operation is underway.

The incident has caused affected train services in Assam. The railway has now decided to divert trains scheduled to pass through the affected Jamunamukh Kampur section through the UP line, the NFR said in a statement, adding that the loco pilot had applied emergency brakes after he saw the herd of elephants, but couldn't avert the incident.

"The derailed train, after detaching the affected coaches, has left the site for Guwahati," the statement read. "Once the train reaches Guwahati, additional coaches will be added to accommodate the passengers of the affected coaches, and the train will resume its journey."

Meanwhile, concerns have been regularly raised over wild animals, particularly elephants, meeting with accidents on railway tracks. The Indian Railways has taken several steps to prevent such mishaps. Earlier in March this year, the railways said it has developed an AI-enabled Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect the presence of elephants on tracks.

This system, as per the railways, alerts the loco pilots, station masters and other officials about movement of wild elephants near tracks. "This device has been reported to be very effective in protection of elephants," the Indian Railways had said in a statement.