WALAYAR: A wild elephant died after it was hit by train at Valladi in Kanchikode on Friday. It was the Mangalore-Chennai West Coast Express train that was going towards Coimbatore at around 6 in the morning that hit the back of the elephant.

Due to the impact of the collision, the elephant was thrown 10 km off the track. The elephant was first spotted by the railway employees who were examining the railway track. The elephant was about 30 years old and the accident happened when the elephant was returning to the forest early morning after spending night in the human habitants near the forest border.

A team of forest officials including DFO Narendranath Veloori and Valayar Range Officer K P Jiljith arrived at the spot.

Over the past ten years, 24 elephant have died in train accidents in Kanjikode, Walayar and Coimbatore sectors.