A tense situation erupted at the Ragama railway station resulting in the delaying of train services on the main line last evening. The passengers on board a train bound to Rambukkana staged a protest after the engine driver refused to proceed beyond the Ragama station, local media reported.
The passengers complained that the engine driver had appeared to be intoxicated as he stopped the train after over running the platform making it difficult for the passengers to get off the train.
Passengers said that the engine driver failed to stop at many railway stations as scheduled too. This resulted in an argument between the passengers and the driver in question. However, the Ragama Police said that the driver was not drunk. Train services on the main line were restored after this train was taken back to the Fort Railway station by another driver who came from the Dematagoda yard.
Passengers of other trains bound to Kandy and Anuradhapura were also stranded for over three hours due to the protest. Police sources said that the passengers dispersed after Police assured them that the driver in question had not been under the influence of liquor.
A Sri Lanka Air Force Bell 212 helicopter belonging to the No. 72 squadron has crashed into the Madhuru Oya reservoir this morning, Air FOrce Media Spokesman Eranda Geeganage said.
Update: Five of the twelve passengers on board the bell 212 aircraft that crashed into the Maduru Oya today, have succumbed to their injuries, the SLAF said.
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