Survivors of train-bus accident still demand justice!

On January 17, 1989 a Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) owned bus transporting a large number of passengers collided with the Aluthgama bound train- travelling from Galle- at the Ahungalla railway crossing. Here we reproduce a picture of the accident carried in a newspaper

January 17, 1989 was a fateful day for the people in the country, particularly those in the South. The most terrible train-bus accident in the history of Sri Lankan transport took place on that day. The accident claimed the lives of 38 schoolchildren and two teachers and incapacitated several others. The incident sent a shock wave across the country.

It is pertinent to bring the accident to memory at a time when accidents caused by buses and the preventive measures proposed by the government and other authorities have been gathering momentum. 

A Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) owned bus transporting a large number of passengers, the majority of whom were schoolchildren and teachers from Ambalangoda to Uragasmanhandiya, collided with the Aluthgama bound train- travelling from Galle- at the Ahungalla railway crossing. It was the only bus proving a shuttle service on the Ambalangoda-Uragasmanhandiya road at the time. Unlike today, there were no private buses that operated on this route.

Schoolchildren from several areas including Polatupalatha, Pathiraja Pedesa, Katuwila, Nelligoda, Galvehera, Welkanda, Bogahapitiya, and Maradana travelled by this bus to schools in Ambalangoda and Balapitiya areas. 

On that fateful day, they were on their way back from school without an iota of feeling that they were heading for disaster. Their only hope would have been to reach their homes for lunch after a tedious day at school. Thirty eight (38) students, who were returning home hungry after finishing school and carrying their books, died in the accident.

Most of the railway level crossings in the country were unguarded or unmanned at the time; which is the case even today. The buildings and unauthorised structures in close proximity of the railway reservation office often prevented the sight of an oncoming train. Hence there was a possibility for a driver to lose a clear view of the railway line if a train was close by. 

However, a samaritan, a woman, living in a house near the Ahungalle railway level crossing, had volunteered to signal approaching motor vehicles to a halt when a train was approaching. She was Dayawathie by name, and she is dead by now. 

She shouted and warned the bus driver to stop, but the latter had ignored the calls to stop the vehicle and attempted to pass the level crossing. 

When the bus was on the railway line the driver had panicked and eventually the engine of the vehicle he was driving had stopped. It is said that the excited driver had failed to restart the engine. The bus was left to the mercy of the train. The train and the bus collided amid the yelling and cries of the passengers. Then the crying voices fell silent. 

Sorrow in Ahungalla

There was much sorrow in Ahungalla and its surrounding villages. The bodies of those who fell off the wreck and run over by the train had been strewn at the scene. Several of the bodies were mutilated beyond identification. Several bodies were buried in one grave. 

A.R. De Silva, the driver of the train, was a resident of Balapitiya, which is near Ahungalla. He joined the Department of Railways in 1980 as an apprentice and was appointed as a train driver in 1985. After serving for two years in Colombo he was transferred to Galle in 1987. 

On the day of the incident, the power set train he worked on had developed a technical defect and he had been assigned to work on train No. 704 with an M-2 Class German engine.

The train that passed Kosgoda Railway Station at 2.25 pm was approaching Ahungalla Railway Station. The driver of the train, who testified at the ‘One Member Commission of Inquiry’ that probed the tragedy, said that the insufficient distance between the bus and the train at the former’s entry point to the level crossing didn’t leave the vehicle driver to do much to avoid the accident. The train though was moving at a moderate speed. 

Agampodi Badrani De Soysa and Swarnapali De Soyza of Katuwila in Ahungalla

The bus that collided with the train was pulled apart and the passengers were scattered on the railway line and run over. 

Then President Ranasinghe Premadasa, as a temporary measure, ordered the installation of gates made of bamboo at the railway crossing. The former president then made Jana Saviya recipients, set up the gates.

However it is said that the bamboo gates system was defunct in a short time leaving the unguarded level crossings open to danger again. The President appointed a one-member Committee of Inquiry comprising former Appeal Court Judge D.J. Jayalath. He had instructed the first lady Hema Premadasa to look into the needs of the victims and to provide them with relief. 

Sri Lanka Transport Board paid compensation worth Rs. 25,000 for each death and between Rs.50,000 and Rs.100,000 for people who were disabled in the accident. However, the compensation offered didn’t suffice to cover the losses suffered by the families affected by the accident. 

Meanwhile, the police filed an action in Balapitiya Magistrate’s Court against the bus driver on several counts. The driver was sentenced to 190 years imprisonment and his driving licence was cancelled. 

One of the survivors of the accident is D. Saman Mendis of Ahungalla. He had been an Advanced Level student of Revatha Maha Vidyalaya in Balapitiya at the time of the incident. Today he is a 56-year-old invalid and still takes treatment. 

“I had to attend that school only for about six months. My hand and lower limbs suffered fractures and as a result, I underwent surgery in my chest and abdomen. I had been unconscious for about two months. I am suffering from a nervous disorder. None of us in the family is married including my two sisters and me. I am still receiving treatment,” he said.

Another schoolgirl who received serious head injuries is D. Ushani Imalka De Silva of Polatupalatha. She had been a grade ten student of Revatha Vidyalaya. Today, she is 54 years of age. She is suffering from a serious mental disorder due to the injuries caused by the accident. She is living under the care of her younger sister at Ahungalla.

“Ushani has issues with her head. She behaves like a child. She gets frightened at the sight of buses. I help her as far as possible in keeping with our meagre income,” Ushani’s sister said.

Agampodi Badrani De Soysa (56) and Swarnapali De Soyza of Katuwila in Ahungalla are sisters of one family and students of Rewatha Maha Vidyalaya. They suffered serious injuries and their mother was among the passengers who died. Swarnapali’s lower limb has been amputated. 

“I received Rs. 75,000 as compensation. My disability compelled me to remain at home without attending school. Ven. Madihe Pannsiha Thera and Ven. Walagedara Amarawansa Thera helped us a great deal. Today there isn’t anyone to help us. Every successive government since then has ignored our calls for help. At least any step has not been taken to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents,” Swarnapali said.

Several other victims including Janaka Pushpakumara (51) of Maradana in Ahungalla who had been unusually destined to travel by that bus.

“I was a grade eight student of Revatha Vidyalaya. Usually I travelled by a Kosgoda bound bus from Ambalangoda to Ahungalla and walk the remaining distance. However, it was raining heavily that day and when I was waiting till the rain ceased, the ill-fated bus came and I boarded it to travel that short distance of about half a kilo metre to my home. The left side of my body suffered extensive damage. My left hand and left leg were fractured in several places, and my left eye was injured. My left hand still doesn’t function properly. I underwent two surgeries to my chest and stomach. My school education was disrupted, and I had to spend about four months in hospitals in Galle and Colombo. Now, I make a living doing welding work. It was said that I was the most severely injured person, so I was compensated with 92,000. With that money, my father bought a piece of land, where I now live,” he said.

Many others were affected by this disaster. If the authorities are gathering information, we scribes can assist. Numerous lives were lost, and there are still parents grieving the deaths of their children. Among those who tragically lost their lives were Galwehera Upul, Nelligoda Duleeka, siblings Champa de Soysa and Nandani de Soysa, Sunandalatha de Silva, Sampath Sanjeewa, Nirosha Kumari, L. Pradeepa de Silva and Rasikalatha de Silva. One of the teachers who died was Adambawa Azani Umma from Samanthure. She had fallen in love with Azahir Mohmed Lebbe of Balapitiya when they were studying at Vidyalankara Campus of the Ceylon University in 1974 and married. She was a teacher at the Balapitiya Muslim School and was on her way home after school that fateful day. 

M.B. Yasawathi (82), the mother of Upul, is still grieving over her son’s death. In the accident, one of Upul’s cousins, Chintha Priyadarshini, who was 12 at the time, was also severely injured. Bandusuri (70) and Upali de Silva, who helped transport the injured to hospitals, have harrowing memories of the tragedy. They recall doing their best to take the dead and injured to the hospitals. At the time of writing this article 36 years have passed since the tragedy. The purpose of revisiting the past is to nudge the authorities in order to bring justice to the helpless families.

Several others who survived the ordeal have been incapacitated for life. Their only grievance is economic constraints they face for not being able to do any work. They requested the authorities not to forget that tragedy and its everlasting consequences. They also stressed the need to work out an effective plan to prevent the recurrence of similar disasters. (Translated by J.K.D.U Thilakarathne)

(The writer can be reached at [email protected])