50 Killed as Bus, Train Collide in Sri Lanka

An intercity passenger train collided with a bus today in northwestern Sri Lanka, killing at least 50 people and injuring 40, police said.

The passenger bus driver apparently ignored signals at a crossing near the town of Alawwa, about 50 miles northeast of Colombo, the capital, police spokesman Rienzie Perera said.

Police at the scene said 30 of the injuries were serious, and the victims were being brought to the National Hospital in Colombo.

Sri Lankan army soldiers were being deployed to help with rescue work, military spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake said.

The train was traveling from Colombo to the temple city of Kandy when the collision took place.

The Sri Lankan accident came as the death toll rose to 91 in Japan’s worst train crash in decades.

More than 450 people were injured, and dozens remained missing two days after a train derailed near Amagasaki and slammed into an apartment building.

Rescue workers were using power shovels to peel away the twisted metal of the two train cars that suffered the most damage, flattened against the apartments.

An investigation into possible negligence by operator West Japan Railway Co. has focused on the actions of the 23-year-old driver, his lack of experience and suspicions that the train was speeding.

National broadcaster NHK reported that police suspected the train was going 65 mph when it hit the curve where it derailed, well above the 43-mph speed limit.

Investigators said the driver may have been shaken after overrunning the last station by 130 feet and falling 90 seconds behind schedule.