Elephant dies after being hit by train near Sakleshpur

It was crossing the track around 10.30 p.m on Tuesday

A tusker, aged about 25, died after being hit by a passenger train at Haside near Sakleshpur on Tuesday night. The elephant was hit by the Bengaluru-Karwar train (06585) while it was crossing the track around 10.30 p.m. The train was stopped at the spot for more than two hours until the carcass was removed with the help of a crane and the track was cleared. Rahul Agarwal, divisional railway manager of Mysuru, told The Hindu that according to the driver of the train, the elephant appeared in front of the train suddenly. “The driver did apply brakes. The train takes time to stop. However, one cannot apply brakes fully in such situations as such a step could derail the train. It is unfortunate that the tusker died,” he said.