COLUMBO, SRI LANKA – Sliding off the cliffs of the hill country where Sri Lanka’s tea grew on Sunday, killing 21 people and injuring 35 people, a police spokesman said.
The accident occurred early on Sunday near the town of Kotomale, about 140 kilometers (86 miles) east of the capital Colombo, in the mountainous region of central Sri Lanka, police said.
Police spokesman Buddhika Manatunga said 21 people have died and another 35 have been treated at the hospital.
Local television showed a bus lying at the bottom of a cliff, helping disabled people and others take injured people off the rooftop.
The driver was injured and among those who were admitted to hospital for treatment. At the time of the accident, nearly 50 people had traveled by bus.
Manatunga said police have launched an investigation to see if the driver’s recklessness or technical negligence of the bus caused the accident.
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The bus was run by a state-run bus company, police said.
Fatal bus accidents are common in Sri Lanka, particularly in mountainous regions. This is often caused by reckless driving and inadequate maintenance and narrow roads.
