Train-hit elephant calf dies at Kaziranga rescue centre

GUWAHATI

An elephant calf hit by an express train in central Assam’s Hojai district on Saturday (December 20, 2025) succumbed to its injuries at an animal rescue centre near Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve 24 hours later.

Bhaskar Choudhury, a veterinarian at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), said the calf, less than a week old, was brought to the centre with fractured legs and damaged internal organs.

“The calf was bleeding from the mouth. We tried our best, but could not save it,” he said on Sunday (December 21, 2025).

The centre is about 110 km east of the railway section between Jamunamukh and Kampur, where the Sairang Rajdhani Express ploughed through a herd crossing the track, killing seven elephants. The collision spot is 126 km east of Guwahati.

Earlier, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma instructed the Forest Department to probe the incident. He sought improved safety measures along wildlife corridors, particularly during periods when visibility is reduced.

Northeast Frontier Railway officials stated that the location where the accident happened was not a notified elephant corridor. 

Conservationists said that it was a high-risk zone, requiring the strict implementation of speed limits and enhanced surveillance. They said such collisions occur when herds move from one forest patch to another, with railway tracks cutting through their migration routes.