Twelve children were injured when an express train collided with a bus carrying a museum tour group at a railway crossing in Koggala, Habaraduwa, police said on Sunday.
The collision happened at about 12.50 p.m. near the Martin Wickramasinghe Memorial Museum, when the express travelling from Beliatta to Maradana hit the bus. An earlier report put the number of injured at six, three of them seriously. Police later said the number of injured children had risen to 12.
The injured were admitted to Unawatuna and Galle National Hospitals for treatment.
According to police, the group was visiting the museum from the Kottawa area. The bus carried 41 children, 14 tutors and six parents at the time of the collision.
Police said the bus driver and his assistant had been arrested in connection with the accident. Preliminary reports indicate that the bus crossed the railway line without heeding the signal lights. Police said further investigations are under way, and the full circumstances of the collision have yet to be confirmed.
Background
Koggala is in the Habaraduwa area of Galle District in the Southern Province, on the coastal railway line that runs south from Colombo. The museum commemorates the writer Martin Wickramasinghe, who was born in Koggala, and draws school and tour groups from across the country.
Level crossings on Sri Lanka’s railway network are protected in different ways. Some have gates, some have signal lights and warning signals, and some have neither. In this case, according to the preliminary police account, signal lights were in operation when the bus crossed.
A person arrested in connection with an accident has not been found guilty of any offence. Whether anyone is charged will depend on the outcome of the police investigation.
What it means
For drivers who cross railway lines by road, the police account is a reminder of a basic rule: a driver approaching a level crossing must obey the signal lights and stop when a train is approaching.
For families and organisers of group outings, the number of people on board, 61 in all, shows how many can be affected by a single crossing accident. Parents of children on the trip can get information on those injured from the two hospitals where they were admitted.
