Bhubaneswar: Two elephants, including a jumbo calf, were killed in two separate mishaps in Odisha’s Sundargarh and Sambalpur districts on Sunday.
As per information, an elephant calf died after being hit by a train while crossing the railway tracks at Koida under Barsuan range in Sundargarh. The body of the jumbo calf was lying on the railway tracks after it died on the spot.
The herd comprising six elephants and a calf was crossing the railway track when the mishap took place. After the mishap, the elephant herd was seen at the accident site guarding the body of the calf, locals said.
As the jumbos remained near the carcass at the site, train movement was affected on the route for some time. Officials of the forest department and Railways visited the site after the mishap.
In another incident in Sambalpur district, a female elephant died after coming in contact with a high-tension wire at Charadapasi village under Nakatideula range of Rairakhol division.
The elephant, aged about 10 years, is suspected to have died after it came in contact with an 11 KV live wire.
After getting information about the incident, Forest department officials visited the spot and launched an investigation into the matter.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Arabinda Mohanty said that the jumbo was suspected to have died after its trunk come in contact with the high-tension wire. A probe is underway to ascertain the circumstances in which it died, he said.
