Cable cart crash in Sri Lanka monastery: Indian monk among 7 killed; 4 critical

Colombo: Seven Buddhist monks, including an Indian national, were killed and six others injured when a cable-operated rail cart overturned at a forest monastery in northwestern Sri Lanka, police said Thursday.

The accident took place late Wednesday at Na Uyana Aranya Senasanaya, a well-known meditation retreat in Nikaweratiya, around 125 kilometres (81 miles) northeast of Colombo. The remote monastery attracts practitioners from across the globe.

Police said three foreign monks - from India, Russia and Romania - were among the dead. Of the six survivors who were hurt, four remain in critical condition.

Authorities said the monks had been travelling in a small makeshift cabin that ran on a cable-pulled track to reach meditation units located on a mountain inside the monastery grounds. Initial findings suggest the cable snapped, sending the car hurtling downhill before it derailed and struck a tree.

"There were 13 monks in the car. Two managed to escape with minor injuries, but four others are in a critical condition," a police official said.

The victims were crowded into the carriage at the time of the crash, according to police.

(With inputs from AP)