Two people were killed when a cab transporting vegetables crashed into a tree in the Kanagarayankulam area along the Jaffna-Kandy main road in Vavuniya early on Thursday (30), police said.
The vehicle was travelling from Dambulla to Jaffna carrying a load of vegetables when it veered off the road and collided with a roadside tree, the Daily Mirror reported.
Preliminary investigations suggest the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, causing the vehicle to lose control.
The injured were admitted to the Mankulam Hospital, where they later succumbed to their injuries. The bodies have been transferred to the Vavuniya Hospital mortuary, where post-mortem examinations are scheduled.
Police did not release the names or ages of those killed, and no further detail was given on how many people were travelling in the vehicle.
Kanagarayankulam Police are conducting further investigations into the crash.
The A9 Jaffna-Kandy road is the main artery linking the Northern Province to the rest of the country and carries heavy overnight freight traffic, including produce lorries running between the Dambulla wholesale market and northern towns. Long night-time hauls on the route have been a factor in previous fatal crashes.
Sri Lanka records several thousand road deaths a year, with single-vehicle collisions involving fatigue among the recurring causes cited by police in accidents on long-distance routes during the early morning hours.
