Seven elephants were killed, and one was injured after being hit by the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam's Hojai district in the wee hours of Saturday.
Five coaches of the train derailed after the collision, though no injuries to passengers have been reported. Train services in the Jamunamukh- Kampur section have been disrupted, and restoration work is underway.
The incident occurred in the Changjurai area at 2.17 am when the herd was crossing the track. According to forest officials, heavy fog in the area is suspected to be the reason behind the accident.
#WATCH | Maligaon, Assam | Loco pilot applied emergency brakes and stopped the train. Restoration work completed and no injuries have occurred: Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Northeast Frontier Railway.
— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2025
(Visuals from the spot)
(Source: Northeast… https://t.co/n9mzFHUKZM pic.twitter.com/jvhTNmgl3F
Nagaon divisional forest officer Suhash Kadam said the postmortem procedures of the dead jumbos are underway. Cremation will be done near the accident site, following all legal formalities, he added.
NFR chief spokesperson Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said the train loco pilot, on observing the herd of elephants, applied emergency brakes, but the jumbos dashed with the train.
Passengers of the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in the vacant berths available in other compartments, and the train, without the derailed coaches, left the site for Guwahati at 6.11 am.
