image for representation only
| Photo Credit: K K Mustafah
A young adult male elephant was killed after being struck by a train near Walayar,, Palakkad, Kerala, in the early hours of Wednesday.
The tusker is believed to have been hit while attempting to cross the railway tracks. Local residents said two elephants had been sighted in the area over the past several days.
A team of forest officials reached the spot soon after the incident, and efforts are under way to remove the carcass.
The Walayar stretch along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border is considered a high-risk railway zone for wildlife, particularly elephants.
Dozens of elephants have been killed on this stretch over the past two decades. However, preventive measures introduced by the Railways as well as the Forest department have reduced fatalities in recent years.
The last train-hit incident was reported in 2024.
Published – February 04, 2026 09:27 am IST
