Seven elephants have been killed after being hit by a train in India's northeastern state of Assam, police said. The dead included elephants.

The incident, which took place in Assam's Hojai district on Saturday morning, also injured a herd of elephants, police said.

The North-East Frontier Railway said, 'The train driver saw dozens of elephants and used the emergency brakes. Despite this, some elephants hit them.'

The railways said that five coaches of the train were derailed in the incident. However, the railways also informed that the passengers and staff on board the express train heading towards Delhi were not injured.

The dead elephants were buried after being examined by veterinarians. Assam has the largest population of elephants in India. The government census shows that there are about 6,000 elephants in the state.