SIX KILLED, 21 INJURED IN HEAD-ON COLLISION

Six passengers were killed and 21 injured in a head-on collision between a private bus and a van at the Dummaladeniya Junction.

Police said the bus carrying pilgrims was on its way to Somawathiya from Polgasowita while the van was on its way to the passport office in Colombo from Sammanthurai with residents from the area who were hoping to obtain their travel documents for a pilgrimage to Mecca.

They said the injured were admitted to hospitals in Warakapola, Kegalle and Wathupitiwala while two of them in a critical condition were later transferred to the Colombo National Hospital.

Police identified the deceased as Mohamed Abrahim Nabi Pathum Nisha (70), Sinnathamby Fathima Farooza (25); Uduma Lebbe Nusran Jahan (27); van driver Ishad Ahamed (40); Mohamed Garfa Mohamed (12) and Fathima Jusla (2).

Among those injured were several women and four children. The residents had rushed to the scene of the tragedy and helped extricate those trapped inside the two vehicles and to rush the injured to the nearby hospitals.

The magisterial inquiry was held yesterday while the Warakapola Police led by OIC H.H. Janakantha are directing further investigations.

The bus carrying pilgrims was on its way to Somawathiya from Polgasowita while the van was on its way to the passport office in Colombo from Sammanthurai