Sri Lanka: Bus carrying university students skids off mountainous road, several killed | DETAILS

Colombo: A bus carrying university students on a field trip skidded off a road and tipped over in central Sri Lanka on Friday, killing two students and injuring 39 others, officials said.

Police said the accident occurred when the driver lost control of the vehicle on a curve near the town of Badulla in the country’s mountainous tea-growing region, about 330 kilometres north of Colombo, the capital.

Derana television showed residents helping health workers remove the wounded students from the toppled bus. Police and doctors said 39 wounded passengers, including six in critical condition, were admitted to the main hospital in Badulla. Two others were declared dead.

Deadly bus accidents are common in Sri Lanka and are often caused by reckless driving and poorly maintained roads. 

Earlier last month, at least 25 children were killed after a school bus caught fire outside Bangkok. According to local media, there were 25 schoolchildren were on board. According to local media, Thailand Nation, the bus, carrying 44 students and several teachers from Wat Khao Phaya School in Uthai Thani, was heading to Ayutthaya on a sightseeing trip when one of its front tyres blew out. This caused the vehicle to lose control and collide with a metal barrier and the crash sparked a fire that quickly engulfed the entire bus. 

Videos posted on social media showed the entire bus being engulfed in fire with huge plumes of black smoke pouring out as it was parked on the road. 

(With inputs from agency)

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