Four dead in two separate accidents

Colombo, April 12 (Daily Mirror) - Four people lost their lives in two separate road accidents last night, in the Welikanda and Elpitiya areas, according to police.

The first incident occurred within the Welikanda police division near the 92nd kilometre post on the Maradankadawala–Trikkondiamadu road. A motorcycle traveling toward Batticaloa collided head-on with a private bus collided in the opposite direction. The rider and the pillion passenger, aged 31 and 55 and identified as residents of Welikanda and Ratmalyaya, were admitted to the Welikanda Hospital, where they later succumbed to their injuries.

A second accident took place later that night on the Southern Expressway near the 54.9 kilometer post. A lorry traveling toward Kottawa collided with the rear of another lorry transporting cement. Three persons sustained critical injuries in the crash. Two of them, aged 62 and 64 and residents of Tissamaharama, died after being admitted to the Nagoda Hospital.

Police said that the driver of the private bus involved in the Welikanda accident and the driver of the leading lorry in the expressway crash have been taken into custody.

Investigations are being carried out by the Welikanda Police, while officers from the Elpitiya Police and Southern Expressway traffic division are conducting further inquiries into the second incident.