Elephant crossing railway line hit by night train

A wild elephant that was crossing the railway line at Panikkankulam in Kilinochchi was run over by a train in the earlier hours of last morning.

A senior official of the Railways Department said one of the jumbos in a herd crossing the railway line had been run over by the Kankasanthurai bound night mail from Colombo.

Meanwhile, Wildlife Conservation Officers who carried out an inspection at the scene said they noticed several gunshot injuries in the carcass of the dead jumbo. They said the jumbo could have had difficulty moving hence it’s inability to cross the railway line quickly along with the other jumbos in the herd might have caused it to be hit by the train.