The presence of mind displayed by loco pilots saved a trio of elephants from getting hit by a train in West Bengal recently. Shared on Twitter by Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan, the video shows the train being stopped at the right time to make sure that the gentle giants are unharmed. According to Mr. Kaswan's post, the incident happened at West Bengal's Rajabhatkhawa station at 5:30 am, on Friday.
A video apparently shot from inside the train, shows a small herd of elephants passing by the railway tracks. Because it was early morning, elephants were only visible due to the train's headlights.
Mr. Kaswan praised the alertness of Loco pilot L K Jha and Assistant loco pilot Arindam Biswas, and wrote, 'Kudos to Loco Pilot Shri L K JHA and Assistant Loco pilot Shri ARINDAM BISWAS. Who used emergency brakes to save the lives of three elephants on the track between APD Junction and Rajabhatkhawa station. At 05:30 AM on 2/12.''
Watch the video here:
Since being shared on December 3, the video has garnered more than 31,000 views and around 2300 likes. The timely action of the loco pilots is being hailed on the internet, with many users applauding them and praising their presence of mind.
One user wrote, "God bless him for caring, may it serve as an example for others that every life is precious.Development doesn't have to come at the cost of animal lives.'' Many also pointed that India should have efficient policies to prevent such accidents in the future. Another offered a solution and wrote, "Great. Install anti-collision devies in trains going though jungles. We have encroached for development, let our development happen, but not kill animals. Balance our actions.''
