The accident took place near Morkulangara railway crossing, which is about a kilometer away from Changanassery railway station, at 3.50 amChanganassery: A herd of buffaloes was hit by a train near Changanassery on Thursday, killing 10 animals on the spot, while six others succumbed later.
The Palakkad-Thiruvananthapuram train was cleared for travel after an inspection by the railway staff. The accident halted traffic on the Ernakulam-Kayamkulam route for over two hours.
The railway protection force has registered a case against the owner of the animals for endangering the safety of passengers.
The accident took place near Morkulangara railway crossing, which is about a kilometer away from Changanassery railway station, at 3.50 am. The loco pilot could not spot the buffaloes that were on the track since it was pitch dark.
The six-month-old buffaloes belonged to Pappachan, from Vazhappally, and owns a farm near Palathrachira. On Thursday, the buffaloes broke the shed and escaped. After covering around a-kilometer-and-half, they got on to the railway track.
When the train hit them, the animals got stuck between the engine and the track. Since the engine could not move ahead, the loco pilot stopped the train and informed Changanassery and Kottayam railway stations.
The police, fire force, railway protection force and locals carried out rescue operations. It took then one-and-a-half hours to remove the remains of the buffaloes from the track and the engine.
After inspecting the track and the engine, the train resumed journey at 5.20 am. By 11 am all the carcasses lying near the tracks were removed.
Following the accident, the Chennai super express (12695) had to be stopped at Kottayam station for half-an-hour.
Pappachan said he had suffered a loss of Rs 7 lakh due to the accident. There were 15 more buffaloes in the shed, which headed to a pond nearby, he said.
Railway officials said that if the horns and bones of the buffaloes had got stuck under the train a big tragedy would have happened. It was averted because of the 'cattle catcher' fixed in front of the train. It also shielded the air pipes of the train.
In the Morkulangara area, residents had got up early to collect water. When they heard the noise, they rushed to the spot and helped in rescue operations.
Morkulangara railway gate linking works were on for the past two years. The people who were there for the work too took part in the rescue operations.
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