COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan passenger train derailed on Thursday after smashing into a family of elephants, with no passengers injured but six animals killed in the island’s worst such wildlife accident, police said.

The express train was travelling near a wildlife reserve at Habarana, some 180 kilometres east of the capital Colombo, when it hit the herd before dawn. Videos shot of the aftermath showed one elephant standing guard over an injured youngster lying beside the tracks, with the tips of their trunks curled together.

“Three baby elephants were among the six killed,” government spokesman and media minister Nalinda Jayatissa told reporters. “Elephants being runover by trains is something that is not uncommon, but our attention is focused on this case because of the sheer numbers.” Local police said two other elephants escaped with serious injuries.

Jayatissa said the government was working on a new mechanism to reduce the number of wild animals hit by trains in sparsely populated jungle areas of the island.

“All systems that were in place, like reducing speed, have failed,” he said. Killing or harming elephants is a criminal offence in Sri Lanka, which has an estimated 7,000 wild elephants.

The animals are considered national treasures, partly due to their significance in Buddhist culture. In August 2016, three elephant calves and their mother were run over by an express train and killed at Cheddikulam, about 260 kilometres north of Colombo.

One the baby elephants was dragged about 300 meters (990 feet) along the track after being hit by the train which was allowed to travel at speeds up to 100 kilometres an hour (60 mph). Two baby elephants and their pregnant mother were killed in a similar accident by a train in Habarana, the scene of Thursday’s tragedy, in September 2018.

Since then, the authorities ordered train drivers to observe speed limits to minimise injury to elephants when going through areas where they cross the lines.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2025