News
Eight lives lost in accidents yesterday across the country
Eight people were killed and ten others sustained injuries in road accidents reported from different parts of the country, Police said. 
Five people returning from a funeral were killed when the car they were travelling in collided head-on with a tipper carrying sand, at Walakumbura, Alawwa. The group was returning to Kurunegala having attended a funeral at Warakapola while the tipper was heading to Colombo from Kurunegala.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the driver, who also died in the crash, had fallen asleep at the wheel.
Alawwa police have arrested the driver of the truck.
The deceased were residents of Ibbagamuwa, Pasyala and Meerigama. Four of them worked at the MAGA construction company.
Three people were killed and three were injured when a van veered off the Ella-Wellawaya road near the Ravana falls, last morning, police said.
Fatal Alawwa accident involing a car and tipper. Pix by Pushpakumara Jayaratne
The van which was heading towards Ella fell down a precipice of about 150 feet near the Ella Rock Hotel around 6 a.m. The injured were admitted to the Wellawaya, Sirigala and Badulla hospitals.
Among the killed were two CEB emplyees and the vehicle’s driver. They too were returning from Hambantota after attending a funeral.
Police, army and residents of the area launched a three-hour operation to rescue the driver who was trapped in the van. He succumbed to his injuries.
Seven people were injured when a cab crashed into a train travelling from Talaimannar to Colombo at Thambuththegama police said.
The injured, who included three members from one family and residents of Colombo and Thalawa area were admitted to the Anuradhapura Hospital.
The cab was travelling from Anuradhapura to Padeniya when it collided with the train.
The gate at the railway crossing was not closed at the time the accident and there were no rail guards at the scene, police said. Damage to several train carriages have been estimated to be around Rs. 100,000.
Ella: Police, army and residents were involved in a three-hour operation to try and rescue the driver trapped in the vehicle. Pic by Saman Palitha
Ella: Crowds gather at the scene of the accident. Pic by Palitha Ariyawansa
| 15-year-old’s lorry adventrue ends in tragic death of 12-year-old | |
| A 12-year-old schoolboy was killed when his 15-year-old cousin accidentally knocked him down while trying to start the engine of a lorry, in the Ahungalla area, police said. The cousin who had found the key on the ignition had started the vehicle when the younger boy riding a bicycle had suddenly come in front of the lorry. The victim Hashen de Sivla was a grade six student of the Rajapaksa Maha Vidyalaya, Ahungalla. |