The baby elephant lay shattered beside the tracks, eyes wide with pain—his tiny body broken by a train he never saw coming.

A baby elephant was seriously injured after being knocked down by a train in Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary, India

Villagers look at a seriously injured baby elephant which was knocked down by a train in Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary on the outskirts of Guwahati city, northeast India

Villagers look at a seriously injured baby elephant which was knocked down by a train…. Credit: EPA/STR

A forest official observes an injured wild baby elephant struggling in pain after she was knocked down by a train early in the morning, near a railway track in Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary on the outskirts of Gauhati, India

….in Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary on the outskirts of Guwahati city, northeast India Credit: AP

Villagers look at a seriously injured baby elephant which was knocked down by a train in Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary on the outskirts of Guwahati city, northeast India

The elephant was knocked down by a train…. Credit: EPA/STR

Villagers look at a seriously injured baby elephant which was knocked down by a train in Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary on the outskirts of Guwahati city, northeast India

….as a group of wild Asiatic Elephants came down to the sanctuary in search of food Credit: EPA/STR

A crane lifts a seriously injured baby elephant which was knocked down by a train at the Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary on the outskirts of Gauhati, India

A crane was brought in to lift the injured animal…. Credit: AP

A crane lifts a seriously injured baby elephant which was knocked down by a train at the Deepor Beel Bird Sanctuary on the outskirts of Gauhati, India

….which was then taken to the state zoological park for treatment Credit: AP

Villagers look on as a crane lifts a seriously injured baby elephant

The Assam Forest Department has been continuously requesting the railway authority to limit the speed of the trains to a maximum of 25 kph within the sanctuary area Credit: AP