• Driver of the  container lorry is in custody

By Dayaratne Embogama and Thisara Samal  

 A tragic collision between a van and a container lorry on  the Anuradhapura-Padeniya Road resulted in four fatalities and left  several individuals with serious injuries yesterday.  

The incident occurred during the early hours of yesterday, when a van carrying passengers collided with a container lorry parked  near a wayside hotel in Eeriyagama. The van was transporting passengers  from Colombo back to Kiralagala Road, Kahatagasdigiliya.   

  The collision claimed the lives of four passengers,  identified as Moulana Seiyadu Abdul Khan (46), Jenu Abdeen (36), Saidu  Ahmed Abdeen (43), and Abdul Rahuman Nazeer (36).   

The impact of the collision resulted in the deaths of two  men, including the van’s driver, and two women. In addition to the  fatalities, several others sustained injuries. Among the injured were a  55-year-old man, two male children aged eleven and six, and an  eight-year-old female child. The injured were promptly taken to  Thambuttegama Divisional Hospital, with the most critical cases  transferred to Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital.   Legal action has been taken, and the driver of the  container lorry is currently in custody. The driver was scheduled to  appear before the Thambuttegama Magistrate.  

An investigative team from the Police Traffic Branch, under  the guidance of HQI Thambuttegama Police CI Sagara Liyanage, is  currently conducting inquiries into the circumstances leading to the  collision.