A Wild Elephant roaming along the Udawalawe-Monaragala main road was accidentally hit by a luxury bus plying from Colombo to Ampara.

The animal had broken through the electric fence of the Udawalawe Park on Friday (24) night and had been loitering on the main Monaragala Road. The animal had succumbed to the injuries it sustained despite treatment by Wildlife veterinarians.

The driver of the bus had stated to the police that the animal had suddenly intruded onto the main road near the 10th Mile Post and though he had attempted to manoeuvre the vehicle in order to avoid it colliding with the animal but it was so swift that it had knocked against the front side of the bus causing severe damage to the bus and also causing minor injuries to passengers, one of whom had been admitted to the Udawalawe Hospital.

The Wildlife officers stated that the animal fallen onto the ground with the impact was taken to the Udawalawe Ath Athuru Sevana in the early hours of Saturday (25) and treated but its life could not be saved due to the serious nature of the injuries.

The driver of the bus had been taken into police custody and was due to be produced in courts.(Lasantha Niroshan Perera)