A powerful explosion tore through a bus at Dambulla in north-central Sri Lanka, killing at least 18 people and injuring 51 others.
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said, on Saturday February 2, a blast inside the private bus that was heading to north-central Anuradhapura city from Kandy occurred at 7.05 a.m. local time at a bus stand in Dambulla town, 148 kms from Colombo.
The ill-fated bus left Kandy at 5:15 am, with around 90 passengers at the time – three of them children – and by the time it got to Dambulla, there were almost 100 people on board. It was then that tragedy struck, which stopped the bus in its tracks, turning it into a deathbed.
The parcel bomb, left on an overhead rack of the long-distance bus, was set off using a mobile phone, a police spokesman said.
"We have information that two people got off the bus before the bomb went off," police Deputy Inspector-General Kingsley Ekanayaka said. "We are trying to track them down. A search is underway."
Bus driver Rohana Wijesiri said he was taking about 100 passengers to Anuradhapura.
"When we were passing Dambulla there was a huge blast and the door near my seat got blown away," Wijesiri said.
“It all happened very fast. There was an explosion and I could not even stop the bus. It stopped by itself due to the explosion. My door was open and I jumped out,” he said.
The top and sides of the bus were ripped apart in the force of the blast. A severed hand could be seen among the blood-stained bags, glass and other debris strewn several yards from the vehicle.
"I do not remember what happened next, but I was running on the road. I saw my conductor fallen on the ground. He, too, got up and started running with me. People were screaming and it was chaotic," Wijesiri said.
"As it (the bus) came near me, I heard thunder. I got thrown away," said Kankeaarachige Michael, a 52-year-old businessman, who was standing by the road when the blast occurred.
"When I saw blood gushing out of my body, I realised it was a bomb," Michael said at Dambulla Base Hospital where he was being treated.
Mallika Wickramasuriya (72), was one of those travelling to Anuradhapura. She boarded the ill-fated bus, along with her sister, in Kandy.
“My ears are hurting, my chest is also hurting. There was a big explosion and I saw fire. I tried to get out of the bus, but two people fell on me. They were dead. I saw their wounds bleeding. My sister sustained chest injuries,” she said.
“My National Identity Card and all other belongings are in the bus,” she added with difficulty. She could barely hear, due to eardrum injuries.
“I heard an explosion and I rushed to the place. I saw a body lying on the ground with an eye missing. Many people were screaming for help. We found 13 bodies immediately and the casualties were taken to the hospital. There were three children in the bus. One was taken to the hospital by us,” Channa Priyantha Opatha, an eye-witness told The Nation newspaper.
The bodies were mostly burnt and blackened, with sections missing. Some had gaping holes in their chest and upper body areas.
According to police, 150 people have been interrogated in relation to the incident. Sixteen were taken into custody after searching nearly 280 houses in the Naula area, DIG Central Division Kingsley Ekanayake said.
Condemning the bombing as "an act of savagery", President Mahinda Rajapaksa urged the Sinhalese majority not to be provoked by the "brutality" of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said, on Saturday February 2, a blast inside the private bus that was heading to north-central Anuradhapura city from Kandy occurred at 7.05 a.m. local time at a bus stand in Dambulla town, 148 kms from Colombo.
The ill-fated bus left Kandy at 5:15 am, with around 90 passengers at the time – three of them children – and by the time it got to Dambulla, there were almost 100 people on board. It was then that tragedy struck, which stopped the bus in its tracks, turning it into a deathbed.
The parcel bomb, left on an overhead rack of the long-distance bus, was set off using a mobile phone, a police spokesman said.
"We have information that two people got off the bus before the bomb went off," police Deputy Inspector-General Kingsley Ekanayaka said. "We are trying to track them down. A search is underway."
Bus driver Rohana Wijesiri said he was taking about 100 passengers to Anuradhapura.
"When we were passing Dambulla there was a huge blast and the door near my seat got blown away," Wijesiri said.
“It all happened very fast. There was an explosion and I could not even stop the bus. It stopped by itself due to the explosion. My door was open and I jumped out,” he said.
The top and sides of the bus were ripped apart in the force of the blast. A severed hand could be seen among the blood-stained bags, glass and other debris strewn several yards from the vehicle.
"I do not remember what happened next, but I was running on the road. I saw my conductor fallen on the ground. He, too, got up and started running with me. People were screaming and it was chaotic," Wijesiri said.
"As it (the bus) came near me, I heard thunder. I got thrown away," said Kankeaarachige Michael, a 52-year-old businessman, who was standing by the road when the blast occurred.
"When I saw blood gushing out of my body, I realised it was a bomb," Michael said at Dambulla Base Hospital where he was being treated.
Mallika Wickramasuriya (72), was one of those travelling to Anuradhapura. She boarded the ill-fated bus, along with her sister, in Kandy.
“My ears are hurting, my chest is also hurting. There was a big explosion and I saw fire. I tried to get out of the bus, but two people fell on me. They were dead. I saw their wounds bleeding. My sister sustained chest injuries,” she said.
“My National Identity Card and all other belongings are in the bus,” she added with difficulty. She could barely hear, due to eardrum injuries.
“I heard an explosion and I rushed to the place. I saw a body lying on the ground with an eye missing. Many people were screaming for help. We found 13 bodies immediately and the casualties were taken to the hospital. There were three children in the bus. One was taken to the hospital by us,” Channa Priyantha Opatha, an eye-witness told The Nation newspaper.
The bodies were mostly burnt and blackened, with sections missing. Some had gaping holes in their chest and upper body areas.
According to police, 150 people have been interrogated in relation to the incident. Sixteen were taken into custody after searching nearly 280 houses in the Naula area, DIG Central Division Kingsley Ekanayake said.
Condemning the bombing as "an act of savagery", President Mahinda Rajapaksa urged the Sinhalese majority not to be provoked by the "brutality" of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
