Technical fault or reckless driving cause 22 lives?

Police investigations are underway to determine whether driver negligence or a technical malfunction caused the deadly bus accident in Kotmale, which claimed the lives of 22 people and injured at least 35 others.

 

The accident occurred when a state-run passenger bus en route from Kataragama to Kurunegala skidded off the Nuwara Eliya-Gampola main road and plunged down a steep slope near Gerandi Ella.

 

The incident is reportedly considered the deadliest bus accident in Sri Lanka since the Polgahawela railway crossing tragedy in 2005, which claimed 37 lives.

 

Police said that the SLTB bus, carrying over 50 passengers, veered off the road in the early hours of the morning. Among the deceased were 16 men and six women. Of those injured, 22 individuals in critical condition have been transferred from Kotmale Hospital to medical facilities in Gampola, Nuwara Eliya, Peradeniya, and Nawalapitiya for further treatment.

 

Rescue operations were carried out under challenging conditions, with emergency teams making significant efforts to retrieve passengers from the steep precipice.

 

The Ministry of Defense said two helicopters have been readied to airlift critically injured individuals to Colombo for further treatment.

 

Two Bell 412 helicopters have been allocated for these emergency medical evacuations.

 

The SLTB said that a special investigation team has been dispatched to the scene for the investigation.

 

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways, Dr. Prasanna Gunasena, who visited the site, said that multiple investigative teams have been appointed to examine the circumstances of the crash.

 

The Government has decided to pay Rs. 1 million as compensation to the families of each individual who died in the tragic bus accident.

 

This latest tragedy adds to a worrying trend of fatal bus accidents in Sri Lanka. Between 2020 and 2024, the country recorded 12,140 road accident fatalities, with annual deaths ranging from 2,300 to 2,500. In 2024 alone, 198 fatal bus accidents were reported, involving both state-owned and private buses.

 

Prior to this, one of the deadliest recent incidents occurred in March 2021 in Passara, where a private bus plunged down a precipice, killing 14 people and injuring over 30. In January 2023, a school excursion in Radella, Nuwara Eliya, ended in tragedy when a bus carrying students from Thurstan College crashed into a van and fell into a 50-foot ravine, leaving seven dead and 30 injured.

 

In August 2023, an SLTB bus collided with a cement truck in Warakapola, killing one woman and injuring ten. The following month, in September 2024, a bus carrying devotees from the Nelligala International Buddhist Centre lost control in Peradeniya, resulting in one death and 37 injuries. Another major accident occurred in November 2024 in Badulla, when a university field trip bus overturned, killing two students and injuring 39, six of them critically.

 

The most fatal bus accident in Sri Lankan history remains the 2005 Polgahawela tragedy, where a bus attempting to cross a railway track was struck by an oncoming train, killing 37 passengers.