Aussie van tragedy

AN Australian woman and her young daughter have been killed and two family members injured in an early-morning road crash in Sri Lanka.

Louise Collins, 37, from Brisbane, and daughter Poppy, 4, died when a white van in which they were travelling collided with a parked truck about 5am on Wednesday on the Southern Expressway near the town of Nagoda, two hours south of the capital Colombo.

Mrs Collins’ brother James Curtain said Poppy’s brother Freddy, 2, and father Patrick, a pilot with Qatar Airways, were injured

Mr Collins is in intensive care with a severed bowel and broken ankle, while Freddy has needed minor plastic surgery to his face.

Mr Curtain said the family loved holidaying in Sri Lanka.

“They were going over there for a short break,” he said. “They loved the peace and tranquillity over er there.”

Mrs Collins, the e youngest of seven children, was remembered by family as “loving and vibrant”.

The Southern Expressway connects cts Colombo to Sri Lanka’s nk nka’s ’ southwestern beaches. hes. h

The Australians, s, who are based in Doha, Qatar, were reportedly travelling from Kottawa to Galle, a popular beach destination, when their van allegedly hit the back of a truck that had broken down on the side of the road.

The Australians and truck driver were taken to the Kalutara Nagoda Hospital, where Mrs Collins and Poppy died.