21 die in Sri Lanka bus accident

Al Jazeera :

The accident takes place near Kotmale, about 140km (86 miles) east of Colombo, in a mountainous area of central Sri Lanka.

People gather around the wreckage of a bus following an accident in the central hilly region of Kotmale, in Sri Lanka.

At least 21 people have been killed and many others injured when a bus carrying dozens of Buddhist pilgrims in central Sri Lanka careened off a cliff, according to authorities.

The crash took place early on Sunday in a mountainous area near the town of Kotmale, about 140km (86 miles) east of the capital, Colombo.

“Twenty one have died and we are trying to identify the victims,” Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena told local media.

The toll could have been higher, the minister added, if not for local residents helping pull people from the mangled wreckage and rushing them to hospital.

Sri Lanka map Television footage showed the bus overturned at the bottom of a precipice while volunteers helped rescue injured people from the rubble.

The roof and side panels of the bus were sheared off, and more than half the seats were ripped from the floor of the vehicle, which landed wheels up into a tea plantation, photos of the wreckage showed. Police said 24 people were being treated in two hospitals.