12,000 die annually due to accidents in Sri Lanka: Medical Specialist

• Victims should be brought to hospitals within the first two hours to save their lives

By Ajith Siriwardana

Around 12,000 people are killed annually due to accidents, Surgeon of the Colombo National Hospital Renuka Mahanama said on Wednesday.

She told a news conference at the Health Promotion Bureau that 6,000 of them are killed on the spot, while some 3,000 people die after being admitted to hospitals.
She said another 3,000 who met with accidents died in transit to hospitals.

Dr. Mahanama said accident victims should be brought to hospitals within the first two hours to save their lives.

Meanwhile, OIC Education of the Traffic Police Headquarters Senaka Gamage said eight individuals are killed daily due to road accidents and 61 were injured. He said there was a notable increase in the number of daily accident victims during the festive season between December 20 and 31.

He requested people to take extra care during the festive season to evade accidents.