Jan 21, Colombo: Police say seven people have died and 51 others were injured after a bus carrying school students collided with a van, and a three-wheeler and fell into a precipice on the Nuwara Eliya Nanu Oya Radella short road.

The accident occurred at around 7.30 pm Friday when the bus carrying a group of Grade 11 students of Colombo Thurston College and returning to Colombo after a trip collided head-on with the van traveling from DikOya to Nuwara Eliya with a group of the same family.

Along with those two vehicles, a three-wheeler that came behind was also involved in the accident.

The van was almost completely destroyed in the accident and the bus fell about 100 feet down the cliff. The bus and the three-wheeler were also severely damaged.

It has been identified that the van is from Hatton Kudagama area and nine people were traveling in the van at the time of the accident.

Six people who were traveling in the van and one person who was traveling in the three-wheeler died in the accident.

Three women and two children were among the dead, according to the police.

At the time of the accident, nearly 47 people including a large number of students were traveling in the bus, and 41 students were injured and 3 children survived without any harm, the Police said.

The injured have been admitted to Kandy General Hospital and their injuries were not life threatening, a hospital spokesperson said.

The cause of the accident has not yet been revealed.