Eighth Monk Dies Following Sri Lanka Cable Car Crash

A Buddhist monk injured in a cable car accident in Sri Lanka has died, bringing the death toll to eight, in what authorities have described as the country’s worst incident of its kind, police confirmed on Sunday.

The crash occurred on Wednesday night near a forest monastery in the northwestern Kurunegala district. Seven monks, including three foreigners, were killed instantly when their cable car cabin plunged down the mountainside.

Six monks had initially been hospitalised, four of them in critical condition. A police official told AFP: “One of the six monks in hospital succumbed to his injuries late last night.”

Funerals for five monks—four Sri Lankans and the Romanian—were held on Saturday at a cemetery near the monastery.

• The Russian monk is to be buried alongside the Sri Lankan monk who died in hospital.
• The Indian monk’s remains have been returned to his family in India.

The 13 monks had crowded into the small, makeshift cable car cabin while heading to meditation units atop a mountain within the Na Uyana monastery complex.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the cable snapped, causing the cabin to careen downhill at high speed, jump the track, and crash into a tree.

The monastery is located approximately 130 kilometres (81 miles) from Colombo, in a mountainous forested region popular for meditation retreats.

Authorities continue to investigate the cause of the accident and assess the safety protocols of the cable car system.