Two persons are reported dead after a lorry collided with another lorry which had broken down on the Colombo Outer Circular Expressway between Kaduwela and Kadawatha this morning (29), the police spokesman said. 

Meanwhile it is also reported that one of the vehicles involved in the crash had caught fire and was almost completely destroyed. 

The accident had occurred near the 16Km Post on the Kadawatha-Kaduwela expressway. A lorry had been parked on the side of the road and was undergoing repairs due to an issue with one of its tyres when another lorry had crashed into the parked lorry. 

The driver of the said lorry had died on the spot after being thrown out of the lorry and onto the road following the collision while the owner of the lorry, who was on the passenger seat, had died from burn injuries as the vehicle burst into flames. 

The driver of the parked lorry and his assistant have been arrested in connection with the incident while.

Police spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said that motorists should immediately call the emergency hotline ‘1969’ in case of any emergency while traveling on the expressway after parking the vehicle on the roadside.

He said that repairs on vehicles should only be carried out after expressway officials come and secure the location.