At least 16 individuals lost their lives when a tourist bus fell approximately 1,000 feet off a mountain road in Sri Lanka’s Uva province on Thursday night, September 4, 2025. The incident occurred near the town of Wellawaya in the Ella region, approximately 174 miles east of Colombo, the nation’s capital.
Another 15 people, including five children, sustained injuries and were hospitalized. Several of the injured are in critical condition at Badulla Teaching Hospital, according to medical personnel. The bus was transporting local tourists who were visiting Sri Lanka’s renowned hill country, celebrated for its lush tea plantations and cultural sites, when the crash occurred.
The accident began when the bus collided with another vehicle and subsequently broke through guardrails on the mountain road. Police spokesperson Fredrick Wootler noted that preliminary findings indicate the driver may have been speeding and lost control of the vehicle during the crash. It is believed that the vehicle’s brake system failed after the collision.
A survivor recalled the moments before the plunge, noting that the conductor attempted to alert passengers of the danger. The conductor yelled, urging everyone to get low and hold on tight. Moments later, the bus hit the safety barriers twice before descending the cliff. The survivor stated, “I was thrown out of the bus through a broken window.”
Emergency responders, including army personnel, police, air force units, fire department crews, and local residents, arrived to conduct rescue operations in challenging terrain. The rescue efforts continued until about 4:00 a.m. on Friday, September 5, as teams searched for survivors and evacuated the injured from the wreckage.
Photos from the scene showed the bus’s mangled remains at the cliff’s base, with its roof partially torn off and seats scattered on the grass. Shattered glass covered the area, and the vehicle was entangled in shrubs and trees at the base of the mountain.
According to Xinhua (news agency), the group included municipal employees from Tangalle returning from a leisure trip. It is estimated that about 30 people were on the bus at the time of the crash.
The Ella region is a major tourist destination, attracting visitors from around the world for its natural beauty, tea plantations, and landmarks such as the Nine Arches Bridge. The accident occurred on the main Ella-Wellawaya road, a frequently used mountain pass for buses and vehicles transporting tourists between hill towns.
This event marks the deadliest bus accident in Sri Lanka since May 2025, when 23 passengers died in a bus crash in Kotmale. That previous accident involved a bus plunging down a mountainside along the Nuwara Eliya-Gampola main road in the Gerandi Ella region.
Bus-related road accidents are common in Sri Lanka, particularly in mountainous areas where winding roads present significant safety challenges. Police data shows that in 2024, Sri Lanka recorded 2,541 deaths from 2,403 fatal road accidents. The nation, with a population of 22 million, averages around 3,000 road fatalities annually, with its winding mountain roads among the most dangerous globally.
Just days before this incident, on August 30, another bus crash in Pottuvil, Eastern Province, resulted in one death and 57 injuries when a bus carrying pilgrims veered off the road and struck a culvert. The victim was a 74-year-old man, and the injured were taken to regional hospitals.
Authorities have launched a thorough investigation into the cause of Thursday’s crash and have emphasized the need for enhanced safety measures on the country’s roads, particularly in mountainous and tourist-heavy areas. The government has expressed condolences to the victims’ families and pledged to enhance transportation safety standards.
Tourism is vital to Sri Lanka’s economy, and this accident has raised concerns about the safety of transportation for visitors to the region. The incident may prompt closer examination of safety measures and vehicle maintenance for buses serving tourist destinations in the country’s mountainous areas.
