SRI LANKA: Twenty one people are killed when a beer truck and a bus collide and burst into flames in southern Sri Lanka

Twenty one people were killed and about 40 were injured when a beer truck and a passenger bus collided and caught fire in the southern Sri Lankan city of Beruwalla, police and the government said on Tuesday (April 10). The two vehicles crashed head-on at a bend and both vehicles caught fire. "Due to the fault of the negligence of the beer container driver this incident occurred. Due to the accident the bus toppled and simultaneously the bus as well as the beer container caught fire," Jayantha Gamage, deputy police inspector general, told reporters at the scene. The driver of the container truck and its cleaner were among the dead. "I just saw the bus toppling over and catching fire. Me and my friends from the hotel broke the windows and helped people out. When the fire got intense, we could not help any more although people were screaming for help," hotel worker Ruwan Chaminda told Reuters. Nirosh Lal, another hotel worker who was injured in the accident, was travelling to work on the bus. "The bus driver is a friend of mine. I was talking to him when I saw the truck coming on our side of the road," he said. "When the accident happened I got thrown out through the windscreen. I crawled away and came to the hospital in a taxi." The accident occurred about 80 km (50 miles) south of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo.

ITN Source | April 10, 2007

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