RailEnquiry

Bhubaneswar: Not even a month after Coromandel Express mowed down six elephants near Subalaya in Ganjam district, a wild bear was killed and one cub got critically injured after being hit by a speeding train at Kantabada in the same district on Saturday night.

Forest officials suspect, the tragic incident occurred while the animals were crossing the railway line. The officials have sent carcasses of the animals for post-mortem. According to locals, the accident site is close to the spot where six jumbos including a fetus were mowed down by the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express on December 29.

Earlier, the Railway Ministry had drawn flak from MoEF minister Jayanthi Natrajan and the state government as well for the death of pachyderms. Natrajan blaming the Railways for the whole incident, had shoot off a letter to the Railway Ministry to ensure speed control of trains in the elephant crossing zone in the terrain.