A high-speed passenger train plowed into a herd of elephants in northeastern India early Saturday, killing seven elephants and injuring a calf.

The Rajdhani Express, which was carrying around 650 passengers, was traveling through Assam when its driver spotted about 100 wild Asiatic elephants crossing the tracks and applied the emergency brakes. 

Despite the effort, the train collided with several of the endangered animals, The Associated Press reported.

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The impact caused the engine and five coaches to derail. 

None of the train’s passengers, who were traveling from Sairang in Mizoram state to New Delhi, were harmed in the incident, the AP reported.

“We delinked the coaches which were not derailed, and the train resumed its journey for New Delhi,” Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told the AP. “Around 200 passengers who were in the five derailed coaches have been moved to Guwahati in a different train.”

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Veterinarians later conducted necropsies on the elephants. 

They were scheduled to be buried later in the day Saturday, according to the AP.

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Assam is home to an estimated 7,000 wild Asiatic elephants, and train-related deaths have been an ongoing issue. 

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At least a dozen elephants have been killed on railway tracks in the state since 2020, AP reported.

Asiatic elephants are considered endangered, and there are only an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 left in the wild, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Published on
20/12/2025 – 9:41 GMT+1

As of Saturday, 20 December, the Brussels Capital Region, which governs the Belgian capital, has been without a government for 560 days.

Why does the capital of the European Union (EU) find itself in this situation, and what does it mean for its citizens and international residents?

Brussels, My Love? sits down with Lauren Walker, Euronews’ journalist and senior producer, to find the answer to these and more questions.

Why is forming a Brussels government so complex?

Belgium’s last regional and federal elections were held in June 2024.

The national federal government was officially formed after negotiations in February 2025, with Flemish conservative leader Bart De Wever appointed as Prime Minister.

As for the regional elections, developments unfolded quite differently. The French-speaking part of Wallonia was the first to form a government in July 2024, followed by the Flemish-speaking part of Flanders in September of the same year.

In Brussels, however, no coalition has yet been formed, leaving the region without a government.

“That’s breaking a previous record, one that actually went into the Guinness Book of World Records, which was 541,” Walker said, specifying that this occurred in 2011, for the federal Belgian elections.

One of the reasons why Brussels struggles more than the Wallonia and Flanders regions to form a government is that the Brussels Capital Region is bilingual and includes both French-speaking and Flemish-speaking parties.

“That makes it very complex because the parties have to look for a majority or for a coalition in their own languages, so the Flemish-speaking side and the French-speaking side, and then they come together to form a government,” Walker explained.

What are the consequences for Brussels’s residents?

“There’s a lot of concern for people living in Brussels,” Walker explained.

Especially in recent months, protests have piled up across the Belgian capital.

The lack of a government has had an impact on many sectors of the economy and society.

“They have social support organisations losing subsidies, so this is very concerning for organisations that are trying to support, for instance, homeless people,” Walker explained.

Other repercussions are more visible even to those less invested in the political debate, with construction work being put on hold or delayed due to a lack of funding.

According to Walker, the situation has not yet had a major impact on EU institutions or the people working within them, but if it persists, it could affect the EU’s public image.

“I think by kind of not taking this responsibility to create a government, it’s not only damaging for people in Brussels, but it’s also really damaging their international reputation,” Walker explained.

Get in touch with us by writing to @brusselsmylove@euronews.com.

Additional sources • Georgios Leivaditis, sound edtor and mixer.