19 including 12 military personnel injured in bus explosion

21 February 2018 07:59 am

Nineteen passengers including twelve military personnel were injured in an explosion inside a bus in Diyatalawa this morning, Army Media Spokesperson Brigadier Sumith Atapattu said.

He said seven soldiers and five airmen were among the military personnel who were injured. The rest of the injured were identified as civilians.

“A private bus which was carrying the passengers had been heading towards Diyatalawa from Jaffna. However, the passengers had been transferred to a Debarawewa-Diyatalawa bus at Bandarawela. The explosion cannot be ruled out as an act of terrorism as of yet. Nevertheless, a highly explosive substance inside the bus may have caused the explosion. The cause can be ruled out after the government analyst inspects the scene,” Brigadier Atapattu said.

Meanwhile, the Police said the explosion occurred at the Kahagolla area in Diyatalawa.

They said the bus was heavily damaged. The injured were admitted to the Diyatalawa Hospital. (Chaturanga Pradeep and Darshana Sanjeewa)