The Director-General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Ranjan Marasinghe, has announced a departmental inquiry into the death of a wild elephant.
The elephant was tragically struck by the Meenagaya Express train, travelling from Colombo to Batticaloa, yesterday (18) around 5:30 AM in the Sudu Nelumgama area, near the Gallella railway station.
The injured elephant reportedly moved to the Polonnaruwa-Batticaloa main road before collapsing and dying near a house wall.
Meanwhile, environmentalist Nayanaka Ranwella stated at a press conference yesterday that close to 225 elephants have died so far this year.
