* Traffic policeman among the victims
* Loaded passenger bus spared disaster as driver dies at wheel
* Compensation for families of bus victims
* Minister orders survey of roadside trees
Actg. OIC Kollupitiya Police, K.O.P. Abeyratne
Counductor Gayan Buddhika
At least six persons died including a police officer and 90 others including 15 schoolchildren were injured in separate accidents reports from different parts of the country from the start of this week, police said yesterday.
In the single largest incident five persons died and 10 others injured when a huge road side tree crashed on to a State-owned bus plying from Colombo to Deniyaya at the Liberty Junction Roundabout on Friday morning, police said.
Driver Saman Kapila
Mathugama Depot Manager Kasun Sanjeewa
They said the ongoing inclement wet weather accompanied by gusty winds had apparently uprooted the age-old tree that collapsed on to the bus without a warning.
The incident prompted Opposition lawmakers to urge the Government to monitor the age-old huge trees bordering the busy roads in the Metropolis and the adjoining areas during wet weather.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has directed to provide financial assistance of Rs. 500,000 each to the families of the victims of the tragic bus accident in Colombo.
President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayaka has directed the Ministry of Transport and the Sri Lanka Transport Board to provide financial assistance of Rs. 500,000 to the families of the victims.
State Minister Premitha Bandara Tennakoon has instructed officials to carry out an immediate study of large roadside trees at risk of falling due to the prevailing wet weather and remove any tree that may pose a threat to the public.
Officials of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) have been directed to coordinate with the Environmental Authority, Road Development Authority (RDA) and local authority bodies on the matter.
In a separate incident at Nittambuwa 22 people were injured in a vehicle pile-up at Kadjugama on the main Colombo Kandy Road also on Friday morning.
Schoolchildren
The accident involved a public passenger bus going from Ampara to Colombo, a container truck and a fuel bowzer, according to police.
At least four of the injured are currently under treatment with life-threatening injuries at the Wathupitiwala Base Hospital.
Meanwhile, 15 schoolchildren were injured after their vehicle collided with a Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) bus in Kuliyapiyiya on Friday morning.
According to police the accident took place in the Karantippala area in Kuliyapaitiya.
Another 21 persons were injured on Tuesday when the lorry in which they were travelling plunged down a precipice at Samimala in Maskeliya earlier this week, police said.
The victims were travelling towards Maskeliya to attend a funeral when the incident took place, according to police.
Relatives of the victims at the National Hospital.
Pix by Wimal Karunarathna and Rukmal Gamage
In a bizarre accident a 25-year-old traffic policeman died after he was knocked down by a speeding super luxury vehicle at Independence Sqare in Colombo on Thursday evening, police said.
The deceased constable was identified as A. Priyankara, and was a resident of the Walasmulla area.
Initial investigations have revealed that the luxury vehicle was being driven at excessive speed and the driver apparently lost control while attempting to avert the traffic policeman who had signalled him to pull over.
The speeding vehicle subsequently came to a halt after it crashed into the fountain at the centre of the Independence Square Roundabout.
The driver was found to be a technical engineer of a private company and a resident of Narahenpita and was subsequently remanded after he was produced before a local Magistrate.
Gynaecologist
He is also the son of a former volunteer obstetrician and a gynaecologist at the police hospital for many years, who was later conferred the rank of Deputy Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP). However, according to police, he had left service at the hospital many years ago.
A private passenger bus loaded with passengers escaped a major disaster after the driver collapsed dead at the wheel shortly before entering the Kaduganawa slopes, police said.
They said the driver who was also the owner of the vehicle was identified as Chaminda Prabath Sarathchandra aged 49 who had earlier been diagnosed with a heart condition but had opted to ignore pre-medical warnings, the police quoted his wife as saying.
The bus was brought to a halt by an alert passenger riding the footboard who had used his hands to hold in to the clutch and brakes.
The driver was a resident of Kindagahamulla in the Gampaha area. According to police the results would have been horrific if the incident had occurred if the vehicle was navigating the narrow Kaduganawa precipice that lead to Colombo.
