Jumbos run over

The carcass of one of the elephants. (Saikat Santra)

ANSHUMAN PHADIKAR, TT, Aug 08, 2018 Jhargram: Three elephants, including a calf, were mowed down early on Tuesday by the Mumbai-bound Jnaneswari Express in Jhargram's Jamboni.

Locals believe the jumbos, part of a larger herd of 12, may have taken shelter on the tracks because of heavy rain. "Jumbos normally don't wander in this area. That's why we don't have any speed controls n this stretch. But now we will look into possible measures. Two years ago, an elephant had been killed like this," divisional forest officer Basavraj S. Holeyachi said.

A rail official said the Jnaneswari Express was running at 107kmph and because of the rain, the driver could not see the elephants.

The 1.30am incident affected services, with six express trains, including the Up Mumbai Mail, Jan Shatabdi Express and the Ahmedabad Express, delayed. Three local trains were cancelled.