COLOMBO: Local police reported that at least 30 people were injured and 15 people were killed when an overcrowded bus transporting dozens of Buddhist pilgrims collided with a precipice in Sri Lanka on Sunday.
The state-owned bus was traveling through the central hilly district of Kotmale when the driver lost control and it went over a cliffside road before daybreak, making it one of the deadliest traffic accidents the nation has seen in decades, according to authorities.
Police said an inquiry was ongoing and that it was carrying around 70 passengers, about 20 more than it could hold.
A local police source told AFP over the phone, “We are trying to determine whether it was a mechanical failure or if the driver fell asleep at the wheel.”
