Three elephants killed after being hit by bus and truck in

Three elephants were killed after being hit by a bus and subsequently, by a truck on a national highway in Odisha's Keonjhar district early on Thursday, a forest official said. The pachyderms were crossing NH-20 near Balijodi area under Ghatagaon forest range, when they were mowed down by a bus and an iron ore-laden truck, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Keonjhar, Santosh Joshi said.

"A female elephant, aged around 16, and a one-year-old calf died on the spot, while another female, which had sustained critical injuries, died during treatment," he said. A preliminary inquiry had initially showed that the pachyderms were knocked down by a truck, but a thorough investigation later revealed that a bus had first mowed them down, he said.

The driver of the bus which was on its way from Cuttack to Barbil has been detained and is being questioned, Joshi said, adding that further investigation is in progress. Shortly after the bus knocked down the animals and drove away, the truck proceeding towards Paradip from Keonjhar hit the elephants and skidded off the road as its driver lost control of the vehicle, he said.

The truck has been seized, said Ashok Kumar Nayak, the Ghatagaon Forest Range Officer, adding that the driver fled the scene abandoning the vehicle but his helper has been detained. Senior officials, including the DFO, had rushed to the spot following the incident to provide aid to the injured pachyderm, aged a little over 16, Nayak explained.

The carcasses were buried after post-mortem was performed by a team of veterinary assistant surgeons, the DFO said..