Forest department personnel rescued one of the two injured elephants from the spot after the locals informed them about the mishap. The injured baby elephant, which lost its mother in the accident, was
being taken to Nandankanan Zoological Park near Bhubaneswar for treatment.

According to forest department officials, a male tusker that received grievous injuries in the accident slipped into the nearby jungle. Efforts were on to locate it for treatment.

It is believed that the goods train had dragged the two elephants several metres away from the spot of the accident, a forest department official said.

Keonjhar district is home to a large elephant population in the state. Due to increase in mining activities in the recent years, many of the herds have lost their habitation and are migrating from one place to another in search of foods.

As a result, the district has been witnessing frequent movement of elephant herds in rural areas. Most of the elephant groups had adjusted their movements according to vehicular traffic on roads but they were yet to cope with movement of trains in the region.

Forest Department sources said that they had requested the railway authorities to instruct the train drivers to drive slowly while passing through dense forest patches where there was frequent movement of elephants.