Coimbatore:
A 25-year old elephant hit by an express train on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala Border succumbed to the injuries, Forest department sources said on Thursday.
The death of the pachyderm on Wednesday night took the number number of elephants which have died so far this year to five in the district, the sources said.
The elephant, which was moving on the railway track in Pudupathi village was hit from behind by the Thiruvanthapuram-Chennai Express train at 1.30 AM on Monday last, suffered multiple injuries and was under treatment at the Chadivayal elephant camp.
The pachyderm’s condition worsened on Wednesday evening and it died around 10.20 PM, Forest department sources said.
A wild male elephant had died when it came into contact with a live wire in a farmland in Boluvampatti forest range on January 5, and a female elephant was found dead in Sirumugai range on January 28.
Two deaths were reported on March 15, when the carcass of a female elephant was found in Pehikuttai and a male tusker was found dead in Valparai forest range coming under Anamalai Tiger Reserve, taking the toll to five in the district this year so far, they said.
