Loco pilots apply emergency brake as elephant wanders close to railway track; WATCH

It is always heartbreaking to hear of an elephant or any animal killed while crossing railway tracks. However, a video has gone viral on social media showing how loco pilots' quick thinking averted a mishap and saved the life of an elephant who was seen walking close to a railway track in West Bengal. The incident took place somewhere between Nagrakata-Chalsa in North Bengal's Jalpaiguri district. Upon noticing the tusker walking close to the railway tracks, loco pilots applied the emergency brakes immediately which saved its life. The video was shared on the official Twitter account of Alipurduar Division, Northeast Frontier Railway. "While working 03150Dn KanchanKanya Exp spl at 17.45 hrs today, Alert LP Sri D.Dorai & ALP Sri P. Kumar noticed One Tusker adjacent to track at KM 72/1 between Nagrakata-Chalsa & applied Emergency brake to control the train & save it [sic]," the caption read.

Take a look at the video here: 

The short video clip of 1:22 minutes shows that an elephant is walking close to the railway tracks as the train continues to move forward. Since being shared on Wednesday, August 25, the video has gone viral and twitteratis were all praise for both the loco pilots - D Dorai and P Kumar. As of now, the video has garnered 3,500 views and more than 260 likes. One of the users wrote, "Thumbs up for your responsibility.....it's our job also to protect environment [sic]." "That's a commendable job. Thanks a lot. I am from Alipurduar so I still remember the accident where many elephants died. Actually, it was happing quite often then. But now the situation has completely changed. Great Job Sir [sic]," another user wrote. While praising loco pilots, a user commented, "Excellent & many wishes to the entire team especially pilot who took the immediate response [sic]."

Alipurduar has witnessed several deaths of elephants in the past

It should be mentioned here that it's not the first case when the loco pilots' quick thinking and timely response has saved the life of an elephant. In April, a similar video was shared on the official Twitter handle of the Alipurduar Division of Northeast Frontier Railway. The clip showed loco pilots halting the train in order to make safe passage for elephants. The video was also retweeted by Wildlife Trust India praising the loco pilots. Notably, Alipurduar is an elephant corridor that has witnessed several deaths of tuskers in the past due to being hit by trains or being caught in electric fences.  

Image: @drm_apdj/Twitter