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11 killed in pilgrim van tragedy
By Nalaka Nonis
A pilgrimage to Kataragama by a group of people from a remote village in Wellawaya ended in disaster yesterday afternoon when their van crashed into a stationary bus at Tissamaharama, killing 11 of them and injuring five, Police said.

Four women and two children were among those killed in the tragedy which took place at the Sixth Milepost on the Kataragama-Tissamaharama road.

According to Police, the van carrying the pilgrims had been travelling at high speed when it collided with a bus which was stopped on the road. Eyewitnesses said that a tyre of the van had burst and the vehicle turned turtle before hitting the bus.

The ill-fated vehicle was completely crushed and dented leaving its seats splattered with blood. The injured were rushed to the Hambantota Hospital and officials there said the condition of some of the victims was serious.
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