Eleven people, including a 10-year-old child, were injured when a van carrying a group of pilgrims crashed into a tree in Sorabora, Mahiyanganaya, last night (26).
Police said the victims, residents of Kailagoda in Badulla, were returning from a pilgrimage to Anuradhapura when the accident took place on the Mahiyanganaya–Girandurukotte main road.
The van driver, who sustained serious injuries, is believed to have fallen asleep while driving, causing the vehicle to veer off the road and collide with a large tree.
Police and local residents managed to rescue the passengers, who were trapped inside the wreckage, before transferring them to Mahiyanganaya Hospital for treatment.
