Six elephants dead after being hit by train in Sri Lanka

Colombo: A passenger train derailed after striking a herd of elephants near a wildlife reserve in central Sri Lanka in the early hours of on Thursday.

While no injuries were reported among passengers, six elephants died from the accident in Habarana, east of the capital Colombo.

Two injured elephants were being treated, police said, noting that it was the worst such wildlife accident the country had seen, AFP reported.

It is not uncommon for trains to run into herds of elephants in Sri Lanka, where casualties on both sides of human-elephant encounters are among the highest in the world, BBC news reported.

Last year, more than 170 people and nearly 500 elephants were killed in human-elephant encounters overall - and around 20 elephants are killed by trains annually, according to local media.

Elephants, whose natural habitats are affected by deforestation and shrinking resources, have increasingly strayed into places of human activity.

Some have urged train drivers to slow down and sound the train horns to warn animals ahead on railway tracks.

There are an estimated 7,000 wild elephants in Sri Lanka, where the animals, are protected by law. Killing an elephant is a crime punishable by imprisonment or a fine.