Bus driver arrested over fatal collision in Nanu Oya

The driver of the bus, which was involved in a deadly collision in Nanu Oya that claimed the lives of seven people including children, has been arrested by the police.

The 62-year-old, who is receiving medical care at the hospital under police custody, is expected to be produced before the court tomorrow (Jan. 22).

During preliminary investigations, the police uncovered that the bus driver’s careless driving had resulted in the accident.

A bus transporting a group of students had fallen down a 100-foot precipice after it collided with a van and a three-wheeler on the Radella Shortcut Road in Nuwara-Eliya last evening (Jan 20).

All six persons who were travelling in the van including its driver and the driver of the three-wheeler died on the sport, while 53 passengers including students were hospitalized with injuries.

Reportedly, five persons travelling in the van were relatives. Among them were two girls aged 8 and 12 years and a 19-year-old boy.

The bus, which was en route to Colombo, was one of seven such buses that had been transporting a group of students of Thurstan College, Colombo, who were on an educational tour in Nuwara Eliya. 

Reports revealed that 53 passengers – including teachers, parents and 41 students of Grade 11 – were inside the bus at the time of the accident.

Meanwhile, the injured were airlifted back to Colombo, on the instructions of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The Radella Shortcut Road in question was previously closed off for heavy vehicles, however, heavy vehicles began using the road once again after it was carpeted and built properly. However, authorities decided to ban heavy vehicles on the Radella Shortcut Road once again in the aftermath of the fatal accident.