Two elephants were killed and another critically injured on Sunday (Oct 21) crossing railway tracks in Sri Lanka, officials said, in yet another tragic collision involving the protected animals and speeding trains.
A Jaffna-bound night train rammed into two elephants at Ambanpola, 150km north of Colombo, killing one and injuring the other.
In a separate accident, a passenger train derailed after hitting and killing an elephant near Palugaswewa, 160 kmnorth-east of Colombo.
No passengers were injured in either accident.
“Train services have been disrupted, but we are working to remove the carcass and repair the track on the eastern line,” an official said by telephone.
Speed restrictions are imposed on trains passing through elephant habitats but these are difficult to enforce. Only 10 per cent of Sri Lanka’s trains are believed to be equipped with speedometers, local media reported Sunday.
Two weeks ago, a passenger train struck and killed three elephants. A fortnight before that, a mother elephant and her two calves were hit and killed in the east of the country.
Sri Lanka considers elephants a national treasure and they are protected by law.
Source: AFP
