Four people from the same family lost their lives in the tragedy on the Radella Shortcut last evening when a bus filled with students from Thurstan College, Colombo, who were returning from an educational tour of Nuwara Eliya, collided head-on with a van and a three-wheeler.
Those who died from the family from Dik Oya were the father Abdul Raheem, 55, mother Aysha Fathima, 45, and daughters Mariam, 13, and Nadeeha, 8. A 14-year-old boy, Raheem, who was a relative of the family also died in the accident. They had been on their way in a hired van to visit a relative when tragedy struck on the main road near Somerset Estate. The van driver, Nesaj Pillai, 55, was also killed, as was the three-wheeler driver Shanmuga Raj, 25 of Nanu Oya. Four others who were in the van were injured.
The family had a small business making packets of cocktail mixture, commonly known as ‘bites’.
Immediately after colliding with the van and three-wheeler, the bus had run off the road and down a hill through the tea fields of Somerset Estate before coming to a halt at the bottom of the hill.
There were no fatalities from the bus, but 47 people who were on board were injured and are warded at the Nuwara Eliya Hospital. They include 41 students, 2 teachers, 2 parents, and the driver.
Funerals of those who died are scheduled for this evening (Saturday).
Source News first
