1 Jan 2013

Elephants killed by train

10:37 am on 1 January 2013

Five elephants have been killed after being hit by a passenger train in the state of Orissa in eastern India.

The animals were hit when the herd was crossing railway tracks in the Rambha forest area.

The state wildlife department said a request asking trains to slow down because elephants were moving in the area was ignored.

The line took several hours to clear because the train was damaged.

The BBC reports nearly 300 elephants have been killed in Orissa in the past five years.

Most of the deaths were blamed on accidental electrocutions, poaching, poisoning by farmers to prevent them from damaging crops and being run over by trains.