31 May 2013

Four elephants killed by train in India

9:20 pm on 31 May 2013

A speeding passenger train has killed four fully grown elephants in eastern India, after the driver failed to see them in time.

A government official said the express train rammed into the animals near the forests of Marghat in West Bengal state, north of the state capital Kolkata.

Train accidents involving elephants are frequently reported from across the country, and in December last year five elephants were killed in a train accident in neighbouring Orissa state.

India is home to about 25,000 Asian elephants, but their numbers are dwindling as a result of poaching and loss of habitats.