Doctor dies in ambulance head-on collision

by Kurulu Kariyakarawana

A doctor and another person were killed on the spot and three others sustained serious injuries when an ambulance transporting a medical crew rammed into a speeding lorry head-on in Battuluoya on the Puttalam – Chilaw main road yesterday morning, the police said.

The group was returning to the Puttalam Base Hospital after carrying a child suffering from a serious ailment to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital in Colombo.

The three casualties including the driver, a nurse and an attendant were rushed to the Chilaw Hospital and two of them were later transferred to the National Hospital Colombo as they were in a critical condition.

The ambulance which was believed to have been travelling at high speed was badly damaged while the lorry was also damaged.

Chilaw police are conducting investigations to identify the victims at the time this edition went to press.