Six people were killed in separate road accidents across the island within a 24-hour period on Sinhala and Tamil New Year day, police said on Saturday.
The deadliest incident occurred on the Southern Expressway near the 54.9 km post, where a lorry carrying cement collided with another lorry travelling in the same direction towards Kottawa. The driver and two passengers in one of the vehicles were seriously injured, with two — aged 62 and 64, both residents of Tissamaharama — later dying while receiving treatment at Nagoda Teaching Hospital.
Four other fatalities were reported from separate incidents in different parts of the country during the same period.
The Avurudu day toll adds to an already grim week on Sri Lanka’s roads. Police earlier reported that 49 people were killed in road accidents during the week leading up to the festival, with the Transport Minister calling for heightened public awareness.
Authorities had deployed islandwide security measures including police and tri-forces personnel for the holiday period, and had set up expressway CCTV monitoring to catch speeding drivers during the festive travel rush.
Despite these measures, the continued fatalities underscore the persistent road safety challenges during peak travel periods in Sri Lanka.
