Baripada, Nov 2: In a tragic incident, a tusker died after being hit by the Shalimar Express train near in Betnoti area of Odisha's Mayurbhanj district late last night.

As per reports, the tusker was separated from its herd of over 30 elephants and was seen wandering near Sarbana and Bishrampur villages. It got stuck near Agria railway crossing, around four kilometres from Betnoti, when the Shalimar Express train hit it around 11.30 pm, leading to its death on the spot.

Following the mishap, the train had a brief hal before it resumed its journey and  tension prevailed in the area as locals blamed poor coordination between the forest and railway departments, holding them responsible for the mishap.

After learning about the incident, local villagers rushed to the spot and later aleretd the Betnoti Forest Range Officials. They alleged that despite repeated alerts  to the forest officials about the frequent movements of the elephant through human settlements, highways, and railway tracks in the Betnoti forest area, they did not take any adequate preventive measures.

The officials have seized the pachyderm’s body and launched a probe into the matter.