Sri Lankan Collision Kills 50

Authorities say an intercity passenger train collided with a bus that tried to dash through a railroad crossing in northwestern Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing at least 50 people and injuring at least 40 others.

Police spokesman Rienzie Perera said the passenger bus, apparently racing another bus to reach its destination first, slipped past a barrier and tried to cross a railroad track near the town of Alawwa, about 50 miles northeast of Colombo.

Police at the scene confirm that at least 50 people died when the bus and train collided, while 40 others were injured, 30 of them seriously. The seriously injured were taken to National Hospital in Colombo.

Most of the victims were aboard the bus, which was dragged by the train for about 100 yards after the collision.

"Our initial investigation suggests that two buses were competing with each other to reach Colombo faster," Perera said.

A senior railway official said the barricade at the railroad crossing blocks only one lane - one of more than 900 such crossings in Sri Lanka. Drivers often race through the open lanes to cross ahead of approaching trains, and accidents are common.

"In this case, the bus driver decided to pass using the right (open) side of the crossing," said G.R.P. Chandratilleke, the operating superintendent of the railways.

About 50 Sri Lankan army soldiers were deployed to the scene to help with rescue work, military spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake said.

The train was traveling from the capital Colombo to the temple city of Kandy when the accident took place. The bus was on its way to Colombo from Dambulla.

Sri Lanka, an Indian Ocean island country of 19 million people, has a tiny railroad system established by British colonial rulers in 1865.