Coimbatore (PTI): Three elephants, including a pregnant pachyderm carrying an 18-month-old foetus, were crushed to death by a moving train near here on Monday.

The incident happened when the two male elephants were trying to push and rescue the 25-year-old pregnant elephant stuck in the railway track after noticing the approaching train.

All the three died after the three speeding empty bogies of the train, being moved from a workshop after service, hit them, Manoharan, veterinarian with the Forest department said.

As the train hit them, the stomach of the pregnant elephant was ripped off under the impact, throwing the foetus on the side of the tracks.

While the three elephants died on the spot, the fourth one, a she-elephant, moved around restlessly in the area, he said.

The bodies of animals would be cremated after carrying out autopsy, he said.

Forest department is monitoring the movements of the survived elephant as they fear that it could prove dangerous to the public, he said.

The bogies of the train had derailed after the incident. Trains on that route have been diverted and efforts to remove the derailed bogies were on, railway sources said.

Senior district police and forest officials have rushed to the spot, police said.