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 THE KATUKURUNDA
HEAD-ON COLLISIONSeventy two year ago, one of the most serious railway accidents took place on March 12, 1928 when there was a head-on collision between two fast moving trains near Katukurunda, at about 7.45 p.m. Several compartments telescoped into each other. Twenty eight people died.
THE MIRIGAMA DERAILMENTThirty six years later, on October 18, 1964 another major railway accident took place at Vilwatte on the Kandy line, near Mirigama. Over sixty persons who were in this 'office' train died when the accident occurred at about 7.45a.m. More than a hundred of the commuters suffered serious injuries. On that fateful morning, over 300 Rover Scout Leaders were at a "Mini Jamboree" camping close by. On hearing the loud crash, they rushed with first aid kits and water bottles, to the site of the disaster, which was about 400 yards away. Under the Leadership of Gate Mudaliyar Lee Dassanaike (Asst. Chief Scout Commissioner who happened to be camping there) and also P.D. Fernando, a seasoned Scouter, they effectively cordoned off the scene. The Scouts went on their push cycles to the nearest police station, the railway station and hospital to break the news of the tragedy. Within a few minutes, relief parties of doctors and Police personnel arrived to take control of the situation there. THE KURUNEGALA
DERAILMENTThirteen die in Sri Lanka train crash: (Ananova) At least 13 people have been killed and 40 injured after a train derailed in Sri Lanka. The train, packed with approximately 2,000 passengers, was on its way to the capital, Colombo. It came off the tracks near Kurunegala, 60 miles from the capital. A railway official said the last three cars of the train derailed, sending hundreds of passengers crashing from their seats A police spokesman said: "Initial investigations have attributed the cause of the accident to the high speed the train was traveling at, and that it was packed over capacity." Some of the victims had to be dragged out from under the toppled cars. Story filed: 04:50 Sunday 19th August 2001
Badulla-Colombo train derailed Kandy South group correspondent - S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen (Daily News 9th August 2002) A locomotive and three compartments of the Badulla - Colombo Second night mail train was derailed at a point between Inguru Oya and Galaboda stations yesterday morning. No one was injured and the railway immediately transported the passengers of the derailed train to Nawalapitiya by sending another train upto the point of derailment. Peace Train
DerailedCOLOMBO, April 13 (AFP) - A train traveling from the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo derailed on its first voyage since war disrupted rail service eight years ago, railway officials said Sunday. The daily service between Colombo and the eastern town of Batticaloa, 220 kilometres (135 miles) away, had only resumed Saturday morning after the long lapse. "It was so unfortunate that three compartments of the train went off the track just one and a half kilometres (one mile) before it reached Batticaloa," said R.J. Gunaratne, station master at the central town of Polonnaruwa. No injuries were reported in the accident. Sunday's service was also affected by the accident because the track had not yet been cleared. Before the conflict between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) escalated in the mid-1980s, trains ran to the north and east of the country. But the railway tracks were destroyed and the last train to Batticaloa made its trip in August 1995. The service was resumed because of a ceasefire between the Tigers and the government which began in February last year. The two former warring parties are due to sit down for their seventh round of Norwegian-brokered talks in Thailand between April 29 and May 2. The conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives since 1972. Please note that the above items are from the web and the style of writing is not mine THE DERAILMENT ON THE PATTIPOLA DESCENT MORE |
Photo : Reuters 
