Bus driver saves 14 passenger lives after brake failure in Badulla

The driver of a bus belonging to the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) Depot in Kekirawa, operating from Badulla to Anuradhapura this morning (12), has reportedly managed to save the lives of 14 passengers by carefully steering the vehicle into an embankment after its brakes suddenly failed.

The bus had departed from Badulla at 06.35 a.m. and was travelling along the Badulla–Mahiyanganaya road when its brakes malfunctioned near the Dunhinda bend. 

Acting swiftly, the driver, Janaka Thushara, had veered the bus into a roadside embankment to bring it to a complete halt, Ada Derana reporter said. 

The driver stated that if he had failed to do so, the bus could have plunged several thousand feet into a precipice, resulting in a major tragedy.

The bus conductor had warned passengers to hold on tightly and the driver had diverted the bus into the embankment and thereby averted another disaster, Ada Derana reporter stated. 

Badulla Police pointed out that several fatal accidents had occurred on this stretch of road in recent times, with most attributed to brake failures.