India passenger train hits and kills two endangered Asian elephants.

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Meeshika Sharma
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Indian villagers look the carcass of two endangered Asian elephants that were hit and killed by a passenger train near a railway track in Thakur Kuchi village on the outskirts of Gauhati, Assam state, India, Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017. Wildlife warden Prodipta Baruah says the elephants were part of a herd of about 15 that had ventured into the area in search of food before dawn Sunday. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

Two endangered Asian elephants were hit and killed by a passenger train near the city of Gauhati in northeastern India.

The elephants were killed on a rail line in Thakur Kuchi village on the outskirts of Gauhati in Assam state before dawn Sunday.publive-image

Gauhati is in Assam state, which is home to several thousand wild Asian elephants. The animals are revered in Asia but are considered endangered due to habitat loss and poaching.

Wildlife warden Prodipta Baruah says the elephants were part of a herd of about 15 that had ventured into the area in search of food.He says the other elephants crossed the track and the two killed were attempting to cross when the train struck them.

Wildlife workers and veterinarians arrived to perform necropsies on the elephants before burying them in nearby pits.Roaming elephants in the region are struck by trains fairly regularly.

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