Passenger who fell from the footboard of the Matara bus dies

A tragic incident is reported from the Beruwala area, where a father of two lost his life after falling from the footboard of a private bus traveling towards Matara. The person who died in this accident is 52-year-old Keruwage Chandu Kumara Fernando, a resident of Pansala Road, Massala, Beruwala.

The deceased boarded this bus, which started its journey from Colombo around 10:00 PM on the 10th, at the Massala Junction in Beruwala around 12:00 AM (midnight). He had come with the intention of going to a relative's house in the Matara area, and while traveling on the footboard after boarding through the rear door of the bus, he met with this accident near Samad Mawatha on Galle Road after traveling about a hundred meters.

Police investigations have revealed that there were enough empty seats for passengers to sit inside the bus at the time of the accident. However, the police suspect that he may have lost his balance and fallen to the ground while attempting to answer a mobile phone call while traveling on the footboard.

After another person on the bus informed the driver and conductor that a passenger had fallen, the bus, which was moving forward, was turned back at Hettimulla Junction and handed over to the Beruwala Police. Subsequently, the police intervened and arranged alternative bus facilities for the other passengers on the bus to reach their destinations. Officers from the Traffic Division of the Beruwala Police confirmed that the seriously injured person was already deceased when he was taken to the Beruwala Hospital.

The preliminary inquest into the incident was conducted by Beruwala Inquirer into Sudden Deaths, Mr. Reginald Hettiarachchi, around 2:00 AM on the 11th. It was ordered that the body be referred to the Kalutara Nagoda Teaching Hospital for further post-mortem examination. Currently, the driver and the bus are in police custody and are scheduled to be produced before the Kalutara Magistrate's Court.