KOLKATA, India (AP) — A passenger train plowed into a herd of elephants in eastern India, killing seven, including two calves, as they lumbered across the tracks in a forest, authorities said today.
The crash was the worst of its kind in recent memory, said Hiten Burman, forestry minister in West Bengal. Ten other elephants were seriously injured and the death toll could rise, he said.
The train was traveling at 50 miles per hour through the Chapramari Forest when it struck the herd of 40 elephants crossing the tracks on Wednesday at dusk, Burman said.
“The herd scattered, but returned to the railway tracks and stood there for quite some time before they were driven away by forest guards and railroad workers who rushed to the spot after the accident,” he said.
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