A passenger prepare touring close to the wildlife reserve of Minneriya Wildlife Nationwide Park, struck a herd of elephants as they have been meandering throughout the tracks, the collision derailing the prepare, however not earlier than six elephants have been killed, and two have been injured.
In keeping with authorities, the prepare was touring between Minneriya and Galoya railway stations, close to Minneriya, about 124 miles from the capital, Colombo, when the collision occurred round 11:30 p.m. native time, on Wednesday evening.
“The world the place the collision occurred is famend for its nature park and wildlife,” stated Hasini Sarathchandra, a spokesman for the federal government’s wildlife division.
Whereas no passengers have been injured within the accident, 4 elephant infants and two adults have been killed, and a feminine grownup
elephant
and her younger calf have been injured, and are being handled within the metropolis of Giritale by wildlife veterinarians.
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Video footage of the tragic accident involving a herd of elephants versus a large passenger prepare has emerged on social media, and goes viral; many commenting as to how one thing like this might occur given the scale of the elephants, which might make seeing them fairly straightforward.
The scenes are heartbreaking to observe, and much more in order clear signage warning trains of elephant crossings close to the accident scene is obvious. Within the footage, the feminine grownup elephant and her younger calf who have been injured within the collision look like struggling from their accidents, as wildlife officers come to their assist and deal with them on the facet of the tracks earlier than transporting them to Giritale for medical care.
In keeping with a press release launched by the Division of Wildlife Conservation, Railway Division officers, police, and wildlife officers swiftly coordinated efforts on the scene. “Additional investigations into the incident are underway to find out the circumstances surrounding the collision.”
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Sri Lanka is Dwelling to Over 7,000 Elephants and Are Protected by Legislation, and Thought of Sacred within the Buddhist Tradition
Elephants are thought-about extraordinarily sacred all through international locations in Asia and are revered in Buddhist tradition, together with Sri Lanka, the place greater than 7,000 wild elephants freely roam, and are protected by governing regulation. Ought to anybody injure or kill an elephant, the regulation states they are going to be punished as criminals, and face imprisonment or a wonderful.
The wildlife reserve of Minneriya Wildlife Nationwide Park attracts hundreds of thousands of vacationers annually hoping to catch a glimpse of the favored and endangered Asian
elephants
that traverse in and across the reserve space, which is taken into account the ‘elephant hall,’ connecting Kaudulla and Wasgamuwa Nationwide Parks.
Sadly, it’s not unusual for accidents involving trains and elephants to happen in Sri Lanka; many drivers working the trains point out they don’t have time to use the brakes by the point they see a herd crossing over the tracks.
An analogous incident in October 2024 came about in Sri Lanka whereby 20 elephants have been crossing the tracks close to Minneriya, when a passenger prepare struck the herd, killing 4 elephants.
“There was about 10 meters (32 toes) between us. So, we couldn’t do something. We pressed the breaks to their most capability, however there was nothing a lot we might do. Not less than 4 elephants have been knocked down,” driver, N.W. Jayalath, advised the Related Press.
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