AssetID: 54532995
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: Train Collision Kills Six Elephants in Sri Lanka's Deadliest Wildlife Accident
Caption: Train Collision Kills Six Elephants in Sri Lanka’s Deadliest Wildlife Accident. A passenger train derailed after hitting a herd of elephants near a wildlife reserve in Habarana, Sri Lanka, early Thursday, resulting in six elephant fatalities. While no passengers were injured, two elephants sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment, police confirmed. Authorities described the incident as Sri Lanka's worst wildlife accident involving trains, according to AFP. Sri Lanka records some of the world’s highest casualties in human-elephant conflicts, with about 20 elephants killed annually by trains. In 2024 alone, over 170 people and nearly 500 elephants died due to human-elephant encounters, highlighting the growing tensions between wildlife and expanding human activity. Elephants, driven from their natural habitats by deforestation, increasingly venture into human settlements and cross railway lines in search of food and water. Conservationists are calling for train operators to reduce speed and use horns near wildlife zones to help prevent such tragic collisions. This isn’t the first fatal incident in the region — in 2018, a pregnant elephant and her two calves died in a similar accident in Habarana. Another collision occurred in October 2023 in nearby Minneriya, where two elephants were killed, and one was injured. Sri Lanka is home to approximately 7,000 wild elephants, legally protected and culturally revered by the Buddhist majority. Killing an elephant is punishable by fines or imprisonment. Instructions: THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT
Keywords: Natural World,Train,Collision,Kills,Six,Elephants,Sri Lanka,Deadliest,Wildlife,Accident,Wounded,Sustained,Injuries,Habarana,Reserve,Nature,Animals,Animal,Fatalities,Injured,Treatment
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