Badulla police said that the accident took place around 12:00 p.m. local time when the lorry was transporting construction workers, Xinhua news agency reported.

The wounded have been admitted to a local hospital, and their condition is critical, according to the police.

There has been a spate of accidents in Sri Lanka in the last few days. Around 25 people were injured after a bus collided with a lorry transporting cement in Madampe, located in Sri Lanka's North Western Province, on Thursday morning.

Accidents involving motor vehicles are common in Sri Lanka. There were 2,557 deaths in 2,200 fatal traffic accidents in Sri Lanka in 2023.