Seven elephants killed by train accident in India

A passenger train smashed into a herd of elephants in India's northeast, killing seven animals on the spot, officials said Saturday.

No travellers were injured in the accident in Assam state, home to more than 4,000 of the roughly 22,000 wild elephants in India.

Senior Assam police official VV Rakesh Reddy told AFP that seven jumbos were killed, and one elephant sustained an injury.

Five coaches of the train, which was headed to New Delhi from the remote Mizoram state, were derailed.

Authorities have introduced speed restrictions along routes designated elephant corridors, but the latest accident occurred outside of these zones, Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, an Indian Railways spokesman, said.

"The loco pilot, on observing the herd of elephants, applied emergency brakes. However, elephants dashed with the train," he said.

Deforestation and construction activity near their habitats force elephants to stray further afield for food, often bringing them into conflict with humans.

According to parliamentary figures, 629 people were killed by elephants across India in 2023-2024.