A wild elephant in Palakkad was fatally struck by a moving train near Malampuzha-Kottekkad railway station on Monday. The two-year-old female elephant was hit by the Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Express train (12624) around 11:15pm, but managed to retreat into the forest after being injured. Kerala Forest Minister AK Saseendran announced that an investigation will be conducted, and a case will be filed against the train operator for speeding, as the prescribed limit for the area is 20 km per hour.
The Minister assured that the Forest Department and Railways will work together to prevent such incidents in the future. The elephant herd crossed the track at Pannimada near Kottekkad on Monday. Railway officials on duty reported that the train did not derail despite the collision, as it was moving slowly. The injured elephant, which fell but got back up after 15 minutes, was later found in a severely injured state near Augustine Textile Company by the Forest Department team led by Walayar Range Officer Mohammadali Jinnah.
Unfortunately, the elephant died during preliminary treatment at 2:30 am. Following the accident, the train was stopped for 25 minutes near the Kottekkad-Pannimada forest area until the elephant herd safely passed, after which it was allowed to proceed slowly. Another elephant, also seriously injured in a similar accident at the same spot on April 10, died after three days of treatment by the Forest Department.
