Police stated that 10 schoolchildren, injured when a bus collided with a train at a railway crossing in the Koggala area (within the Habaraduwa police division) this afternoon (25), have been admitted to hospitals in Karapitiya and Unawatuna for treatment.
The accident occurred when the bus, carrying schoolchildren, collided with a train traveling from Beliatta towards Maradana. The rear section of the bus was struck by the train; the bus driver and the conductor have been taken into custody by the police.
The bus was transporting a group of children, accompanied by private tutors and parents. The incident took place while the group was returning from a visit to the Martin Wickramasinghe Memorial Museum in Koggala, having traveled there from the Kottawa area.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that at the time of the accident, there were 14 private tutors, 6 parents, and 41 children on board the bus. It is reported that the children on the bus were aged 14 and 15.
It is reported that the railway crossing where the accident occurred lacks protective gates and operates solely using light signals and an audible warning system.