Heartbreaking news out of India:
A passenger train in eastern India ploughed into a herd of elephants, killing seven including two calves, as they walked across the tracks in a forest, authorities have said.
The crash was the worst of its kind in recent memory, said Hiten Burman, forestry minister in West Bengal on Thursday. Ten other elephants were seriously injured and the death toll could rise, he said.
Officials from the area say their pleas for trains to slow down in the area have gone unanswered:
Burman said railway authorities have ignored requests from his department to have trains reduce their speeds inside the elephant corridor in Jalpaiguri district, about 415 miles from Kolkata, the state capital.
Dozens of elephants have died in recent years after being hit while crossing railroad tracks that run through India's national parks and forests. In December, a train killed five elephants in neighbouring Odisha (formerly Orissa) state.