Police stated that initial investigations into the Ella bus accident revealed that the crash occurred due to the bus traveling at excessive speed and the driver losing control.

However, a survivor of the tragedy told the media that the bus driver had complained of a brake fault shortly before the accident.

“At a bend near the waterfall, he said there were no brakes. I was sitting on the bonnet and talking. When the driver said that, the conductor laughed. Someone seated next to him also laughed, saying ‘don’t lie.’ At the next bend, he repeated that there were no brakes. Then we realized the brakes had failed. A vehicle came along at that moment, and the bus went downhill after hitting it. At that time, I thought it was over,” the survivor recounted.

“I woke up to the sound of a small child crying after the bus plunged. I tried to get up with the child and climb out. Then I screamed, and people came,” he added.

Two individuals who helped rescue passengers from the bus were also injured and have been hospitalized.

Meanwhile, the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) has launched a special investigation into the incident. 

Commissioner General of Motor Traffic, Kamal Amarasinghe, confirmed that two officials, including the Badulla District Chief Motor Vehicle Inspector, have been dispatched to the crash site. He added that investigations have commenced and a preliminary report will be submitted soon.

According to Deputy Minister of Local Government Ruwan Senarath, 15 individuals — including Tangalle Urban Council Secretary T.W.K. Rupasena, 12 council employees, two children, and the bus driver — were killed in the accident. The Badulla Teaching Hospital confirmed that the children and the bus driver were among the deceased.

The bus, which was carrying Tangalle Urban Council employees and their families returning from a trip, veered off the road near the 24th kilometre post on the Ella–Wellawaya main road around 9:00 p.m. last night (04). It first collided with an oncoming SUV vehicle and the road’s iron fence before plunging around 1,000 feet down a precipice.