Two alert locomotive pilots stopped a train when they spotted an elephant on the tracks in North Bengal, preventing an accident that would have certainly led to a casualty.?
The video of the incident was shared on Twitter by the Divisional Railway Manager of North Bengal.?
In the video, an elephant appears dangerously close to the railway tracks.?However, alert loco pilots, R.R. Kumar and S. Kundu applied emergency brakes on time to save the tusker?from being?hit.
¡°LP & ALP of 15767 Up SGUJ-APDJ Intercity Exp Sri R.R. Kumar & S. Kundu suddenly noticed a wild elephant crossing the track at KM 23/1 between Gulma-Sivok at 17.35 hrs yesterday & applied brakes to control train speed, saving wildlife,¡± read the caption.?
Many who came across the video praised the locomotive pilot for staying alert and taking prompt action.
The Gulma-Sivok?stretch witnesses a high number of elephant encounters annually. This is the reason why the speed of trains in the section is often slow, mainly to?prevent accidents involving wildlife.?
There have also been recommendations to reduce the number of trains operated at night to prevent such accidents given individual elephants or herds could cross the tracks at multiple places in the night when there is lower visibility.??
Previously,?in a similar incident in 2020, a wild elephant was saved thanks to the timely emergency brake pulled by loco pilots.
The video showed what the operator of the locomotive saw when the train was brought to a halt. A herd of elephants, including a calf, are seen crossing the tracks safely.?
¡°The alertness & prompt action of loco pilot & crew helped to save lives of three elephants Elephant including one baby elephant crossing rail tracks on Sivok-Gulma section in West Bengal. The train stopped immediately, waiting for the elephants to safely cross over to the other side,¡± the then?Union Railway Minister?Piyush Goyal had tweeted.?
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