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Heavy Rain

Two elephants accidentally electrocuted in India

Locals said the second elephant was electrocuted while trying to pull the first one away from the electricity pole.

TWO ELEPHANTS WERE killed in eastern India after coming into contact with an electricity pole, government officials have said.

The pair were part of a herd numbering up to 40 that was passing through a busy elephant corridor — a traditional migration route — on the outskirts of a tea estate in Darjeeling, West Bengal state.

“There have been incessant rains in the region over the last few days and our electricity department officials’ initial assessment is that it made the current pass through the poles,” Anurag Srivastava, district magistrate of Darjeeling, said.

The locals from the tea estate who rushed to the spot say the second elephant was electrocuted while trying to pull the first one away from the pole.

The rest of the herd left the area safely, avoiding the pole and dangling wires.

There are many busy elephant corridors crisscrossing India that have been obstructed by man-made structures including housing, roads and railway lines.

Two elephants were electrocuted in separate incidents last month in south India after touching live wires.

© AFP 2016

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