At least five police personnel were killed, including a female officer and eight others injured in motor accidents and natural disasters while on road duty during the past week, officials said.
They said two personnel from the Police Special Task Force (STF) were killed and four others were injured after their defender Jeeps veered off the road and rammed into a road side tree at Velikulam in Vavuniya on Tuesday night.
Four others travelling in the same vehicle sustained serious injuries, two critically and are currently being treated at the Vavuniya Hospital, according to officials.
The crash occurred during poor weather when the driver of the vehicle had attempted to avoid hitting stray cattle that had suddenly appeared on the road and crashed onto a huge road side tree, they said.
The STF personnel were attached to a camp in Madukanda, Vavuniya.
In a separate incident at least four Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel sustained injuries following an earthslip on the Southern Expressway on Wednesday evening.
The incident took place near the 102km milepost between Pinnaduwa and Imaduwa interchanges of the Southern Expressway, they said.
The incident urged officials to advice residents to move to safer ground as there were fears of more earthslips in the vicinity.
The earthslip also led to a traffic pile up on the expressway close to the 102km milepost near the Pinnaduwa and Imaduwa interchanges.
A policeman was also hit by a tipper truck and died instantly while he along with two other officers were inspecting a vehicle loaded with sand near the Puhuriya Junction on the Colombo-Kurunegala road on the same day.
The three policemen were attached to the Polgahawela Police Station and were placed on road duty at the time of the incident.
According to police the victim was hit by the tipper truck while attempting to cross the road with a flash light and landed on a cab parked close by.
The truck driver was subsequently arrested following the incident.
The constable was rushed to the Polgahawela Hospital in a critical condition but succumbed to his injuries on admission.
The deceased police officer was a 45-year-old who was a resident of Girabe, in Polgahawela.
On Wednesday a 24-year- old woman police constable died in a head on collision with a tipper truck at Thalabiriyagama-Dambulla.
The off-duty WPC was on leave at the time of the accident, according to police.
She had been attached to the Point Pedro Police Station.
In Batticaloa a 57-year-old police Police Sun Inspector (SI) died after falling from his motorcycle Nochchomomalai this week.
It was only days earlier that the victim had been promoted as an SI from the rank of sergeant.
The victim was attached to the Nochchomomalai Police Station at the time of his death, according to police.
At Rathgama in the Galle Division, a former Inspector of Police was shot dead while riding a motorcycle with his elder brother on Monday earlier this week, police said.
According to police the victim succumbed to his injuries while under treatment at the KarapitiyaTeaching Hospital.
Initial investigations have revealed that the victim was the former Office in Charge (OIC) of the Crime Branch at the Ambalangoda Police Station.
The assassins had arrived on a motorcycle and later sped off towards the Galle area after the shooting.
The former Police Inspector had succumbed to injuries shortly while his brother is being treated at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital.
Investigations have also revealed that the victim was behind the arrest of two suspected notorious criminals who are currently being held in remand custody.
One suspect allegedly behind the killing was subsequently shot dead by STF personnel on Wednesday evening in what was described as a shootout at a safe house in Thelwatta in Metiyagoda.
Police said the suspect died after being admitted to the Balapitiya Hospital.
It was only last week that a 24-year-old traffic policeman was killed after he was hit by a speeding luxury vehicle at Independence Square in Colombo 7.
The constable had attempted to signal down the speeding motorist when the incident took place.
