Another student has reportedly succumbed to injuries sustained in the fatal bus accident that occurred on 1 November in Badulla, increasing the death toll to three. 

The 24-year-old victim, Kayilanathan Sinthujan, was a resident of Kantharmadam, Jaffna and passed away on Saturday (23) while receiving treatment at the University Hospital KDU (UHKDU). 

Sinthujan, was a former student of Jaffna Hindu College.

The incident on 1 November had claimed the lives of two individuals and injured 39 others when a bus carrying over 40 passengers toppled on Dunhinda Road in Badulla.

Among the deceased were two female students of the Southern Campus of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU). The students had been travelling on a field trip when the bus hit a curb and overturned.

Post-mortem examinations later revealed that both female students, aged 23, died due to severe head injuries. One victim, Isuri Umayangana, was a resident of Pahalakanda, Tholangamuwa in Nivithigala, while the other, N.M.P.T. Hettimulla, hailed from Unakolagedara, Kurunegala.

According to reports, the accident occurred around 7.45 a.m. on 1 November near the third and fourth-kilometre markers on the Badulla-Mahiyanganaya main road, close to the Dunhinda access road. Police suspect the bus may have collided with an embankment due to a brake failure, although investigations are ongoing.

The group travelling on the ill-fated bus included 41 individuals – two army personnel, five instructors, and students. They were on their way to a field inspection after staying at the Uva Management Development Institute.

(Ada Derana)