At least half a dozen wild elephants were killed after a passenger train collided with them in Sri Lanka, according to local officials.
The Sri Lankan Police announced in a Facebook post that one of its Meenagaya trains — which had run from the eastern coastal city of Batticaloa to the country’s capital Colombo — had derailed after colliding with eight elephants on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
No passengers were injured, and officers helped get them onto another train so they could continue on to their destination, officials said. Sadly, six elephants died as a result of a collision, while two other elephants were injured and treated by wildlife officers.
A graphic shared by police showed several people walking toward the train as it rested on the side of the tracks. A second image showed an elephant walking beside the train.
Hasini Sarathchandra, a spokesman for the government’s wildlife department, told the Associated Press (AP) that four of the dead elephants were babies and two were adults.
Sarathchandra also noted that the area where the train derailed is renowned for its nature park and said the government’s wildlife department was investigating.
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“According to a statement released by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Railway Department officials, police, and wildlife officers swiftly coordinated efforts at the scene. Further investigations into the incident are underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the collision,” Daily News reported, per CNN.
The outlet also reported that the incident happened at night, at around 11:30 p.m.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Sri Lankan elephants are the “largest and the darkest” of the Asian elephants. The herd size of Sri Lankan elephants ranges from 12-20 elephants and is “led by the oldest female, or matriarch.”
“Sri Lanka elephants are protected under the Sri Lankan law and killing one carries the death penalty,” the WWF noted on its website.
The incident comes a few months after another train collision in October killed at least two elephants in northwest Sri Lanka in the town of Minneriya, according to an AP report.
Minneriya National Park, where the train collision occurred, is “home to the world’s largest known gathering of Asian elephants.” It is also “part of the elephant corridor” that connects two other national parks and enables visitors to see “elephant herds” all year in the area, according to the park’s website.
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