The two young project officers who died after a cab, thrown onto the railway track at Payagala, was struck by a train.

Two individuals have lost their lives in a tragedy that occurred when a cab attempting to cross an unprotected railway crossing in the Payagala area was hit by a train. The accident took place on the morning of the 22nd, and the deceased were two officers assigned to the Diyalagoda bridge construction project.

The unfortunate individuals who died were 22-year-old Ranasinghe Arachchilage Pasindu Supun Ranasinghe, a project administration officer of the relevant company, residing in Elledeniya Watte, Bolagama, Rambukkana, and 28-year-old Karunaratne Mudiyanselage Vihanga Rukshan Bandara Karunaratne, a laboratory technical officer. The driver of the cab at the time of the accident, 39-year-old Dedigamuwage Kushan Pradeep, a resident of Paragoda, Bulathsinhala, sustained serious injuries and was admitted to Kalutara Nagoda Teaching Hospital, from where he was transferred to the National Hospital in Colombo for further treatment.

The inquest into these deaths was conducted on the morning of the 23rd before Emergency Coroner K.D. Virath Bharatha at the Kalutara Nagoda Teaching Hospital. Testifying there, Mr. Koswatta Arachchige Don Mahendu Manawasara, 52, a resident of Bangalawatte, Beruwala, and the driver of the Galle Kumari train (No. 57) running from Beliatta to Maradana, stated that with 26 years of service experience, he realized the red cab was traveling parallel to the railway line on Galle Road and suddenly attempted to enter the unprotected crossing. He further stated that although he sounded the train's horn and applied emergency brakes, the cab collided with the train and was dragged for about 420 feet. The accident occurred around 8:41 AM that day, while the train was traveling at approximately 45 kilometers per hour.

Mahesh Perera of Pussamulla, a 35-year-old excavator operator residing in Pussamulla, Molkawa, who provided an eyewitness account of the accident, stated that the cab driver asked him to get into the vehicle to go to the parking area. However, he refused and walked instead, and as soon as the cab entered the crossing, he heard a loud noise. He further testified that afterwards, together with local residents, they broke open the vehicle's doors, extracted the three trapped individuals, and took steps to hospitalize them.

The fathers of the two deceased youths, 59-year-old Karunaratne Mudiyanselage Sunil Karunaratne and 48-year-old Ranasinghe Arachchilage Nimal Shantha Ranasinghe, also gave evidence. Considering the post-mortem reports submitted by Specialist Judicial Medical Officer K.M.T.B. Gunathilaka of Kalutara Teaching Hospital and the evidence presented, the coroner concluded that severe injuries to the head, chest, and abdominal areas due to blunt force trauma from the train collision were the cause of these deaths. Sergeant (55228) G.D.H.H. Jayasekara of Payagala Police led the evidence at the inquest.