A hero train driver slammed the brakes to avoid hitting a herd of elephants crossing the tracks.

Eagle-eyed loco pilot JD Das noticed the jumbos emerging from the woodland despite the low visibility on the nighttime journey between Habaipur and Lamsakhang in India on October 16.

The train operator and his assistant Umesh Kumar reacted to the hazard and quickly stopped the locomotive with hundreds of passengers onboard.

Footage shows more than 60 Indian elephants ambling across the railway line. The pilots can be heard recounting the events as the video is being recorded.

Some of the passengers disembarked from the train to have a better look at the gentle giants.

Additional Chief Secretary Supriya Sahu from the Government of Tamil Nadu said the elephant movements were logged with conservationists. He said the drivers were also warned by an AI-based detection system that spans the entire track.

India is home to the largest population of wild Asian elephants, with an estimated 27,000 to 30,000 wild elephants, across the southern, northeastern, central, and northern regions.