Raipur: A five-year-old female elephant that was struck by a freight train while crossing a railway track in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district died on Tuesday morning despite an overnight rescue and treatment effort by veterinarians. This is reportedly the first incident of death of an elephant due to a train accident in the state.
The elephant was part of a herd of around 10 elephants attempting to cross a coal transportation railway line near Charmar village in the Gharghoda forest range on Monday night when it was hit by a passing goods train, officials said.
The impact left the animal with severe injuries to its lower back and hind limbs. Unable to stand, the elephant remained sprawled near the track as forest staff, veterinarians and frontline staff rushed to the site and began emergency treatment.
Officials said the animal continued to bleed and was kept under observation through the night. Forest staff poured water over the elephant’s body to prevent heat stress while doctors administered treatment in an attempt to stabilise it.
But after hours of intervention, the young elephant succumbed to its injuries on Tuesday morning.
“The animal had suffered extensive trauma to the pelvic and hind-body region. It could not stand after the collision. Despite continuous treatment, it could not be saved,” a forest official said.
The rescue operation was complicated by the presence of the elephant herd, which remained in the vicinity for hours after the accident. Forest officials had to regulate movement around the site and prevent villagers from approaching the injured animal, as elephants are known to display protective behaviour towards injured or dead herd members.
The death has brought focus on the growing interface between elephant habitats and transport infrastructure in the Raigarh-Dharamjaigarh landscape, which supports one of Chhattisgarh’s largest elephant populations.
The district has witnessed a series of elephant deaths in recent months. Wildlife activists have repeatedly raised concerns over train movement through elephant-use areas and have called for stronger mitigation measures, including real-time monitoring of herd movement, speed restrictions in vulnerable stretches and improved coordination between railway and forest authorities.
The latest death comes at a time when the district has reported multiple elephant deaths, including several calves, intensifying concerns over the pressures facing the state’s migratory elephant population.
Forest officials have initiated post-mortem and legal formalities and said the circumstances leading to the collision will be examined as part of the inquiry.
For residents who gathered near the site through the night, the image that lingered was not of a railway accident but of a herd standing guard around its fallen member as rescuers fought a losing battle to save her.
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About the Author
Rashmi Drolia
Rashmi is a Special Correspondent with The Times of India in Chhattisgarh. She covers Politics, Left Wing Extremism, Crime and Human Rights among other areas of news value.
