Colombo, Nov 1 (IANS) Three students from Sri Lanka's General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University (KDU) were killed, with at least 35 others injured in a bus accident in the southeastern area of the country on Friday morning, police reported.

Police spokesperson DIG Nihal Thalduwa said that the bus, carrying around 41 passengers, overturned around 7:45 a.m. on the Badulla-Mahiyangana road in Uva Province, reports Xinhua news agency.

The injured students were taken to a major hospital in the provincial capital of Badulla, with six of them being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU), according to local media reports. Police have not yet determined what caused the accident.

Motor vehicle accidents are common in the South Asian country. In 2023, there were 2,557 deaths recorded in 2,200 fatal traffic accidents.