In Sri Lanka, a packed passenger bus crashed off a cliff, leaving 21 passengers dead and at least 24 injured.

The tragedy, which was one of the bloodiest in Sri Lankan history for decades, happened early on Sunday morning in a mountainous region close to the town of Kotmale, some 86 miles east of the capital Colombo.

When the driver lost control and the state-owned bus went off the road before daybreak, it was carrying about 70 passengers, which was roughly 20 more than it could hold, according to authorities.

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“We are trying to establish whether it was a mechanical failure or if the driver fell asleep at the wheel,” a local police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The injured were sent to two nearby hospitals, according to Deputy Transport Minister Prasanna Gunasena, who was on the site. The bus was reportedly transporting scores of Buddhist pilgrims.

“Twenty one have died and we are trying to identify the victims,” Gunasena added.

The minister claimed that if locals hadn’t assisted in removing the injured from the twisted wreckage and transporting them to the hospital, the death toll might have been greater.

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As workmen and others assisted in removing injured individuals from the debris, images from the accident showed the bus laying inverted at the base of a cliff.

The bus crashed wheels up into a tea plantation after the roof and side panels were sheared off and more than half of the seats were torn off the floor.

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The driver was one of many hospitalised for injuries.

One survivor told a local reporter that he was fortunate to have escaped with only minor injuries because he had been in the front section of the bus.

“The bus was leaning to the left side and as the driver was negotiating a bend, he lost control and it fell down the precipice,” said the unnamed man.

The bus was travelling roughly 155 kilometres from the central city of Kurunegala to the pilgrimage town of Kataragama in the island’s far south.

In Sri Lanka, deadly bus accidents are frequent, particularly in the hilly areas, and are frequently caused by careless driving as well as narrow, badly maintained roadways.

Sri Lanka’s roadways rank among the most dangerous in the world, with an average of 3,000 traffic fatalities every year.

On Sunday, one of the worst bus accidents to hit Sri Lanka since a driver raced a train at a level crossing in the town of Polgahawela in April 2005 occurred.

Thirty-seven passengers were slain, but the bus driver escaped with minor injuries.

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Additionally, in March 2021, a privately owned bus went down a precipice at Passara, approximately 100 miles east of the accident scene on Sunday, killing 13 passengers and the driver.

The tragic event follows the death of a tourist in Sri Lanka who was dangling her head out of a train when she fell off it.

In February, Olga Perminova, 53, chose to lean out of an open door in a fatal photo opportunity while travelling on the renowned Podi Menike rail line.

After clinging to two rails and dangling her head from the carriage, the woman reportedly collided with a rock and sustained terrible head injuries.

During the ‘vacation of a lifetime’ in Sri Lanka in February, two guests, including a young British influencer, reportedly died unexpectedly after being poisoned by pesticides used to treat bed bugs at the backpackers’ hostel where they were staying.

Just four days into her ideal vacation to the sunny island, Derby resident Ebony McIntosh, 24, was taken to the hospital on Saturday along with other visitors to receive treatment for respiratory issues, nausea, and vomiting.