Title - Over 50 heads of cattle mowed down

Guruvayur Express hits the herd at Thenur

Over fifty heads of cattle were run over by the speeding Chennai-bound Guruvayur Express at Thenur near Samayanallur on Monday afternoon. Five injured animals were treated by a team of veterinary officials.The herd of cows, oxen and calves were crossing the Madurai-Dindigul railway track when the train, running at a high speed, mowed them down between Samayanallur and Sholavandan railway stations, a railway official said. The animals were part of a ‘kida maadu’ herd – animals that are confined to particular farm land by landlords for their dung which is used as manure – that were being herded from one farm to another when the accident took place. After leaving Madurai railway station, the train had picked up speed and was running at 100 kmph.“The driver had noticed the animals on the track all of a sudden. He handled the situation cautiously, as he had to negotiate a curve there. He had tried his best to apply the brakes, but the speeding train required a minimum braking distance. The animals were dragged for nearly 200 metres,” the official said.Meanwhile, Collector L. Subramanian and other officers inspected the accident site. The exact number of the animals killed could not be arrived as many of them were torn apart. The dead animals were buried nearby, while the injured animals were handed over to the President of Thenur Panchayat. The animals would be treated by veterinary officials there.

The officials suspect that the owner of the herd could have fled from the scene.