Three jumbos die on Dooars tracks

TT, Alipurduar, May 30: Three elephants were killed and one elephant was injured when a speeding train hit them at Moraghat on the Alipurduar-Siliguri route early this morning, barely 50m from the spot where seven jumbos had been run over in 2010.

The injured female elephant has been taken to Gorumara for treatment. Foresters said they had received information that another animal was injured in the accident and a search was on to locate it.

Train services between Alipurduar and Siliguri junctions were disrupted for almost 10 hours after the elephants were found on the tracks in Moraghat around 5am. While most trains were diverted, a few were also cancelled.

At the same stretch in 2010, seven elephants were mowed down by a goods train on September 22. Moraghat, where today’s accident happened, is between Binnaguri and Banarhat stations. It is 80km from Alipurduar town.

Railway sources said, the Alipurduar-bound Mahananda Express hit the elephants that belonged to a 22-member herd.

One of the elephants that died was a calf.

A female elephant and the calf died on the spot. A third animal was thrown 30m away from the tracks and died few hours later.

Of the two other elephants, one has been taken to Gorumara and a hunt is on to track the other.

After the collision, the train was taken back to Banarhat and railway officials arranged for buses for the passengers to go to Alipurduar.

“Reti-Moraghat is an elephant corridor and the speed limit should not be more than 50kmph. Our identified corridor is up to pillar 97 and the accident took place near pillar 97/4 close to that. The train’s speed cannot increase in such a short distance (300-400m). According to our information, the train was travelling at more than 70kmph,” said Vipin Kumar Sood, chief conservator of forests, wildlife, north.

“We told the railway officials that a herd was near the tracks. The track is straight and visibility was clear, then how did the driver fail to see the elephants?” he said.

Virendra Kumar, divisional railway manager, Alipurduar, said: “The place is not within the corridor and the train was not running above 50kmph. From 6pm to 6am two forest staff members stay in our control room and they did not have any information about elephant movement. The animals came on to the tracks so suddenly that the driver could not do anything. We have started an inquiry.”

Train services were restored around 3pm.