The death toll from last week’s cable car crash in Sri Lanka’s northwestern Kurunegala district has risen to eight, after a monk injured in the accident died in hospital on Sunday.
Seven monks, including three foreigners, were killed instantly on Wednesday night when their overcrowded cabin plunged down the mountainside near the Na Uyana forest monastery. Police confirmed that monks from India, Russia and Romania were among the dead, alongside Sri Lankan nationals.
According to police, the funerals of four Sri Lankan monks and the Romanian monk were held on Saturday near the monastery. A Russian monk is to be buried alongside the Sri Lankan monk who died in hospital, while the remains of the Indian monk have been repatriated to his family.
The crash occurred as 13 monks were travelling in a small makeshift cable car on their way to meditation units at the monastery, which spans more than 5,000 acres of forest. The cabin, built for about six people, reportedly plunged downhill after the cable snapped before careering off track and striking a tree.
Witnesses described scenes of devastation. “Some monks had fallen inside the jungle. We had great difficulty finding them. We saw several of them dead where they had fallen,” said Asanka Siriwardena, who added that the car was “completely destroyed” with pieces scattered across the hillside.
Six monks were hospitalised with severe injuries following the crash, four of them in critical condition. One succumbed late on Sunday, police said.
Video footage from the scene showed a snapped cable and blood pooled near the wreckage. Local media reported that the monks had crowded into a cabin meant for far fewer passengers.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the accident, described as the worst cable car crash in Sri Lanka’s history.
Sri Lanka has long faced criticism for its poor safety standards and lack of regulatory oversight, with preventable accidents across transport projects claiming hundreds of lives in recent years.
