Three wild European bison were killed on Sunday morning after being struck by a passenger train in Poland's Bialowieza Forest. The incident occurred near the village of Witowo when a herd of bison, Europe's largest land mammals, crossed the tracks as a train carrying approximately 50 passengers passed through the area at high speed.
According to police spokesperson Konrad Karwacki, who spoke to AFP, no passengers were injured in the collision. The "Zubr" train, named after the Polish word for bison, did not derail and was able to resume its journey about one and a half hours after the incident.
no passengers were injured in the collision
The collision took place on Sunday morning in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Bialowieza Forest, which straddles the border between Poland and Belarus and is home to Europe's last remaining primeval forest ecosystem. The forest is a critical habitat for the European bison, which was brought back from near extinction in the 20th century through conservation efforts.