Sri Lanka passenger train kills six elephants

Deceased elephants are pictured beside a derailed train which killed six animals at Habarana in eastern Sri Lanka on February 20, 2025. A Sri Lankan express train was travelling near a wildlife reserve at Habarana, some 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of the capital Colombo, when it hit a herd of elephants crossing the line before dawn. [AFP]

A Sri Lankan passenger train derailed Thursday after smashing into a family of elephants, with no passengers injured but six animals killed in the island's worst such wildlife accident, police said.

The express train was travelling near a wildlife reserve at Habarana, some 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of the capital Colombo, when it hit the herd before dawn.