Elephant hit the train near the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, injuring him severely.

A male wild elephant was seriously injured near Valayar on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border after being hit by a high speed train in the early hours of Monday morning. The 25-year-old tusker was pulled from the train to the Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Express (02696), about 100 meters along the track before falling down the slope to the left.

According to the forest department, the accident occurred at around 1.30 am on ‘B’, through which trains go from Palakkad to Coimbatore.

The Forest Department said that the accident location on Track B, 506 A / 9, is located outside the reserved forest area of ​​the Madhukarai Forest Range of Coimbatore Forest Division, which is near the inter-state border as well as a waterway. The department stated that locating a curve on the track reduces the visibility of the pilot.

After the accident was known, the department’s frontline employees, who were ejecting five elephants at a nearby location, rushed to the spot and found the injured tusker.

A veterinary team and veterinarian Prabhakaran, led by NS Manoharan, the regional joint director of the Veterinary Service (Retd), examined the elephant. According to veterinarians, Tusker’s hip is seriously injured and is unable to move his legs. “Manoharan said,” it could have also suffered internal injuries under the impact of the accident, adding that all efforts were being made to revive the animal.

District Forest Officer d. Venkatesh and Assistant Conservator of Forests m. Senthil Kumar is camping at the location.

According to Mr. Venkatesh, the injured smuggler has already been profiled by the department. According to the profile, it is the most senior member of its herd and is used to explore areas up to Mundur in Palakkad. Officials said the tusker was identified with its unique short tuxes, pail head and trunk, the tip of which has been cut off due to some sort of human intervention.

The elephant was identified as a rec chief recruiter, used every year to bring private individuals to private land. It had crossed the Interstate Highway several times and according to the profile traveled alone to Althur in Palakkad.

Lack of early warning system

Although the Forest Department had installed an early warning system on a section of Track B passing through the forest in 2018, it is currently defective, an official confirmed. Cameras were installed between the track locations 506A / 1 and 506A / 4 for the early warning system, to ensure that elephants were not killed by high-speed vehicles. A watchtower was also built on the 606 / A where there is a curve on the track, which affects the visibility of the loco pilot, especially at night.

The last time an elephant was dropped from a train on the Tamil Nadu side of the railway track between Palakkad and Coimbatore was in June 2016.