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Daily Tribune
12-05-2025
- Daily Tribune
Bus carrying pilgrims crashes killing 21 in Sri Lanka
TDT | Colombo An overcrowded bus carrying dozens of Buddhist pilgrims plummeted into a precipice in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing at least 21 and injuring 24, a senior transport official said. The island nation's winding roads are among the most dangerous in the world, and the crash off a cliffside road on Sunday was among the deadliest recorded in Sri Lanka in decades. The roof and side panels of the bus were sheared off, and more than half the seats were ripped from the floor of the vehicle, which landed wheels up into a tea plantation, photos of the wreckage showed. The state-owned bus was carrying around 70 passengers -- about 20 more than its capacity -- through the central hilly region of Kotmale when the driver lost control and it veered off the road before dawn, police said. "We are trying to establish whether it was a mechanical failure or if the driver fell asleep at the wheel," a local police official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to media. Deputy Transport Minister Prasanna Gunasena told reporters at the scene that the injured were rushed to two area hospitals.
Express Tribune
12-05-2025
- Express Tribune
21 die in Sri Lanka as bus carrying pilgrims veers off cliff
Authorities said nearly 50 people were on board the state-run bus when it veered off the road. video grabe AFP video An overcrowded bus carrying dozens of Buddhist pilgrims plummeted into a precipice in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing at least 21 and injuring 24, a senior transport official said. The island nation's winding roads are among the most dangerous in the world, and the crash off a cliffside road on Sunday was among the deadliest recorded in Sri Lanka in decades. The roof and side panels of the bus were sheared off, and more than half the seats were ripped from the floor of the vehicle, which landed wheels up into a tea plantation, photos of the wreckage showed. The state-owned bus was carrying around 70 passengers — about 20 more than its capacity — through the central hilly region of Kotmale when the driver lost control and it veered off the road before dawn, police said. "We are trying to establish whether it was a mechanical failure or if the driver fell asleep at the wheel," a local police official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to media. Deputy Transport Minister Prasanna Gunasena told reporters at the scene that the injured were rushed to two area hospitals. "Twenty one have died and we are trying to identify the victims," Gunasena said. The toll could have been higher, the minister added, if not for local residents helping pull people from the mangled wreckage and rushing them to hospital. Police said 24 people were being treated in the two hospitals. One survivor told a local journalist that he had been in the front section of the bus and was lucky to have escaped with only minor injuries. "The bus was leaning to the left side and as the driver was negotiating a bend, he lost control and it fell down the precipice," said the man, who did not give his name, in a video seen by AFP. The bus was travelling from the pilgrim town of Kataragama in the island's deep south to the central city of Kurunegala, a distance of about 250 kilometres (155 miles). Sri Lanka records an average of 3,000 road fatalities annually, making the island's roads among the most deadly in the world. Sunday's bus accident was one of the worst in the country since April 2005 when a driver attempted to beat a train at a level crossing in the town of Polgahawela. The bus driver was lightly injured, but 37 passengers were killed.
Kuwait Times
12-05-2025
- Kuwait Times
Bus crash kills 21 pilgrims in Lanka
COLOMBO: An overcrowded bus carrying dozens of Buddhist pilgrims plummeted into a precipice in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing at least 21 and injuring 24, a senior transport official said. The island nation's winding roads are among the most dangerous in the world, and the crash off a cliffside road on Sunday was among the deadliest recorded in Sri Lanka in decades. The roof and side panels of the bus were sheared off, and more than half the seats were ripped from the floor of the vehicle, which landed wheels up into a tea plantation, photos of the wreckage showed. The state-owned bus was carrying around 70 passengers -- about 20 more than its capacity -- through the central hilly region of Kotmale when the driver lost control and it veered off the road before dawn, police said. 'We are trying to establish whether it was a mechanical failure or if the driver fell asleep at the wheel,' a local police official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media. Deputy Transport Minister Prasanna Gunasena told reporters at the scene that the injured were rushed to two area hospitals. 'Twenty one have died and we are trying to identify the victims,' Gunasena said. The toll could have been higher, the minister added, if not for local residents helping pull people from the mangled wreckage and rushing them to hospital. Police said 24 people were being treated in the two hospitals. One survivor told a local journalist that he had been in the front section of the bus and was lucky to have escaped with only minor injuries. 'The bus was leaning to the left side and as the driver was negotiating a bend, he lost control and it fell down the precipice,' said the man, who did not give his name, in a video seen by AFP. The bus was travelling from the pilgrim town of Kataragama in the island's deep south to the central city of Kurunegala, a distance of about 250 kilometers (155 miles). Sri Lanka records an average of 3,000 road fatalities annually, making the island's roads among the most deadly in the world. Sunday's bus accident was one of the worst in the country since April 2005 when a driver attempted to beat a train at a level crossing in the town of Polgahawela. The bus driver was lightly injured, but 37 passengers were killed. In March 2021, 13 passengers and the driver of a privately owned bus died when the vehicle crashed into a precipice in Passara, about 100 kilometers east of the scene of the crash on Sunday. — AFP
Qatar Tribune
11-05-2025
- Qatar Tribune
At least 21 die in Sri Lanka after bus carrying pilgrims veers off cliff
COLOMBO: At least 21 people have been killed and many others injured when a bus carrying dozens of Buddhist pilgrims in central Sri Lanka careened off a cliff, according to authorities. The crash took place early on Sunday in a mountainous area near the town of Kotmale, about 140km east of the capital, Colombo. 'Twenty one have died and we are trying to identify the victims,' Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena told local media. The toll could have been higher, the minister added, if not for local residents helping pull people from the mangled wreckage and rushing them to hospital. Television footage showed the bus overturned at the bottom of a precipice while volunteers helped rescue injured people from the rubble. Police said 24 people were being treated in two hospitals. The vehicle, operated by a state-run bus company, was travelling from the pilgrim town of Kataragama in the south to the central city of Kurunegala, about 250km away. (Agencies)
Arab News
11-05-2025
- Arab News
Passenger bus skids off a cliff in Sri Lanka, killing 21
COLOMBO: A passenger bus skidded off a cliff in Sri Lanka's tea-growing hill country on Sunday, killing 21 people and injuring at least 14 others, an official said. The accident occurred in the early hours of Sunday near the town of Kotmale, about 140 kilometers (86 miles) east of Colombo, the capital, in a mountainous area of central Sri Lanka, police said. Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena told the media that 21 people died in the accident and 14 others are being treated in hospitals. Local television showed the bus lying overturned at the bottom of a precipice while workers and others helped remove injured people from the rubble. The driver was injured and among those admitted to the hospital for treatment. At the time of the accident, nearly 50 people were traveling on the bus. The bus was operated by a state-run bus company, police said. Deadly bus accidents are common in Sri Lanka, especially in the mountainous regions, often due to reckless driving and poorly maintained and narrow roads.
