News
Ella-Wellawaya bus accident highlights the danger of unregulated tour buses
View(s):By Kasun Warakapitiya
A pleasure trip ended in tragedy at the Ella-Wellawaya road near Ravana Falls when a bus toppled down a 1000-feet precipice Thursday night.
The bus, bearing the number NB 1673, which was returning from a trip to Nuwara Eliya, crashed into an SUV, veered off-road and fell down a cliff. The bus was carrying 31 passengers- mostly staffers of the Tangalle Urban Council and their family members.
The trip had commenced from Tangalle around 3.30 am on Thursday, and the group had visited Ravana Falls in the morning, followed by stops at the Adisham Bungalow, Haputale, and Bomburu Falls before reaching Nuwara Eliya.
The bus veered off the road and fell down some 1000 feet. Pix by Prasad Rukmal
Thereafter they made their descent down Ella-Wellawaya Road when around 9.00pm the accident happened, the bus colliding with a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) which was moving towards the opposite direction before veering off the road and falling down some 1000 feet.
Ishara Madushani Munasinghe (35), one of the survivors of the accident, a management officer at the Tangalle Urban Council also involved with organising the trip, told the Sunday Times that the employees of the urban council along with some members of their families planned this trip.
She explained that on Thursday morning they visited Ravana Falls, had breakfast there, then visited Adisham Bungalow, bathed at Bomburu Falls, and reached Nuwara Eliya, visiting Victoria Park and the Sitha Eliya Kovil.
Ms. Munasinghe explained that they took the Ella-Wellawaya route to return. She was seated in the third-row seat from the front on the left side of the bus.
She said, “Near Ravana Ella, the driver told the conductor something, and the conductor loudly shouted that the ‘bus’s brakes are down, so grab onto something and bend down’”.
“At that moment, with a loud boom the bus knocked on another vehicle and then veered off road, hit the guardrail twice, and fell down the precipice,” she said.
She recalled that everyone in the bus screamed, and she was tossed out of the bus onto a bush when the bus toppled down the precipice. She added that she was also injured by stones falling on her head. 
“It was pitch-dark, but I could see a small baby near me in the moonlight and heard two ladies who are fellow staffers shouting for help. I couldn’t see the bus. I couldn’t imagine what had happened. In a while, they got down the precipice and with difficulty took us up to the road and got us into ambulances and then to the Badulla Hospital.”
According to the conductor of the bus, the bus’s brakes had broken down while they were driving down the road with sharp bends and turns.
“Two bends before the accident the driver cautioned that the brakes were not functioning, but we thought he was joking. We realised what he said was true when we noticed the effort he made to avoid colliding with an oncoming tipper. Thereafter the bus collided with the SUV and fell down the precipice crashing through the guardrail by the road,” a passenger said.
The fall caused 15 deaths and injured 18 persons. Among the deceased were the Secretary of the Tangalle Urban Council, T.W.K. Rupasena, and 11 members of the urban council. Two children and the bus driver were also killed.
After the bus fell down the precipice, the first attempts at rescue were made by the residents in the area who used ropes to reach the victims.
According to the Army Media Spokesman Brigadier Waruna Gamage, the army was informed of the incident around 9.20 pm and it took them around 35 minutes to reach the location.
He said that the rappelling team of the Army Commandos was deployed for the rescue mission as they had special training to climb down steep heights and rescue people. 
During the rescue mission two soldiers were injured as one fell due to a rope snapping, and another was hit on the forehead by a falling rock.
The Air force too were quick to respond and deployed their aircraft during the night to carry out aerial surveillance.
Group Captain Eranda Geeganage said that over the next day they kept two helicopters (M-17 and Bell 421) at Diyatalawa and Weerawila in case injured patients needed to be transported.
Meanwhile the Badulla Hospital staff played an active part in the rescue mission as several ambulances were deployed. Doctors including the hospital’s senior medical officer in charge Dr. Palitha Rajapaksa got across 20 kilo bags equipped with saline and medication.
There was video footage showing ambulances rushing towards the location despite other vehicles not allowing them to overtake.
Dr. Rajapaksa and a few other doctors descended down the steep hill to reach the injured who were scattered around. First aid was given to the patients before they were carried up the mountain and sent to Badulla and Diyatalawa hospitals.
Dr. Rajapaksa later told the media that the condition of the seventeen injured patients is gradually improving.
The incident raised questions over the regulation of private buses exclusively used for tours, as there is no body regulating them.
The private buses which engage in passenger transportation are registered in the National Transport Commission and operate under a route permit, therefore the roadworthiness of these buses, as well as fitness and discipline of the staff, are regulated. However, buses used for tours do not have route permits or any regulation, a fact confirmed by the Private Bus Owners’ Association President Gemunu Wijeratne.
Mr. Wijeratne called for strict rules and regulations along with a regulatory body for tour buses, privately-operated school buses, and office transport buses.
“I call these tour buses ‘nightclub buses’- they have inbuilt disco lights, sound setups and DJ sets. They need to be banned from operating as drivers easily get distracted while driving them”, he said. 
He added that due to LED light strips and other features used on these buses, other drivers too get distracted by being dazzled.
A Resident of Akuressa, Achila Sandaruwan, identified the bus which toppled into the precipice as the one in which he used to travel home from Galle to Akuressa during the period from 2016 to 2022.
According to him, the bus initially plied the Nugegoda- Hettiyawatta route and later operated on the Colombo-Akuressa route.
“When I used to travel in that bus, its condition had already deteriorated to the point it climbed uphill with great difficulty”, he said.
He added that though the bus had later been given new bumpers, lights and stickers, it was heavily used.
Meanwhile the Sunday Times made repeated attempts to reach the National Transport Commission Chairman Engineer P.A. Chandrapala via mobile calls, Whatsapp as well as text messaging, yet no response was received.
However, co-convener of the Road Safety Strategic Committee as well as public relations officers of the Deputy Minister of Transport Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Damian Weerakkody, said that the Ministry had set up three committees to formulate a short-term road safety strategic plan set for 2025 and 2026.
He added that the Disaster Management Centre, Ministry of Health and the Transport Ministry has already set up a post-crash response working committee.
“Currently the committee is setting up a policy on post-crash response”, he said
Mr. Weerakkody pointed out that they would have a separate road safety strategic plan for the seven districts in Uwa, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces. He added they would extend that plan to Galle and Matara as the two districts also have steep terrain. According to him the plan would be implemented mid-October.
Mr. Weerakkody explained that though private buses are regulated by the NTC, all private buses do not have permits, and the government has given attention to creating a mechanism to regulate special tour buses and get them registered.
According to Deputy Minister Dr. Prasanna Gunasena, the bus which was subjected to the accident had been taken off from National Transport Commission registration.
He explained that there are no rules to regulate buses which are exclusively used for trips and special tours.
The President Fund has announced it will grant a compensation of 1 million to the families of persons who lost their lives in the accident.
Additional reporting by Nayanananda Buwaneka and Prasad Rukmal.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!