The 2004 Sri Lanka tsunami train wreck is the largest single
rail disaster in world history by death toll, with 1,700 fatalities or more. It occurred when a crowded passenger train was destroyed on a coastal railway in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
by a
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
which followed the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
. The tsunami subsequently caused over 30,000 reported deaths and billions of rupees in property damage in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka.
Train
Train # ''Matara Express'' was a regular train operating between the cities of
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
and
Galle
Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...
. The route runs along the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, and at
Telwatta, only about inland from the sea. On Sunday, 26 December 2004, during both the Buddhist full moon holiday and the
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
holiday weekend, it left Colombo's Fort Station shortly after 6:50 A.M. with over 1,500 paid passengers and an unknown number of unpaid passengers including the ones with travel passes (called Seasons) and government travel permits.
The train was pulled by locomotive #591 ''Manitoba'', a
Sri Lanka Railways class M2a built in 1956 by General Motors Diesel of Canada as a model
G12.
Attempts to stop the train
Sri Lanka's seismic monitoring station at
Pallekele
Pallekele ( si, පල්ලෙකැලේ) is a suburb of the city of Kandy in Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka. The suburb is home to the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, the Trinity College Rugby Stadium, the Sri Lanka Int ...
registered the earthquake within minutes but did not consider it possible for a tsunami to reach the island.
When tsunami reports first reached the dispatching office in
Maradana
Maradana is a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Maradana is the site of Maradana Railway Station, one of the primary railway hubs in the country, serving intercity rail and commuter rail. Maradana also has many railway yards and running sheds. A te ...
, officials were able to halt eight trains running on the Coastal Line, but were unable to reach the ''Matara Express''.
Efforts to halt the train at
Ambalangoda
Ambalangoda is a coastal town located in Galle District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Governed by Ambalangoda Urban Council, the town is famous for its ancient demon masks and devil dancers. Situated approximately south of Colombo, it sits o ...
failed because all station personnel was assisting with the train, and no one was available to answer the phone until after the train had departed. Attempts to reach personnel at stations further south failed as they had fled or been killed by the waves.
Tsunami waves strike the crowded train
At 9:30 A.M., in the village of
Peraliya
Peraliya is a small coastal village situated in Hikkaduwa, Galle District in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.
The village could be reached from Colombo in three hours; it is located around Temple Road off the 95 km mark of Galle Road.
...
, near
Telwatta, the beach saw the first of the gigantic waves thrown up by the earthquake. The train came to a halt as water surged around it, and an alarm sounded to alert the population about the increase in the water level. Hundreds of locals, believing the train to be secure on the rails, climbed onto the top of the cars to avoid being swept away. Others stood behind the train, hoping it would shield them from the force of the water. The first wave flooded the carriages and caused panic amongst the passengers. Ten minutes later a huge wave picked the train up and smashed it against the trees and houses which lined the track, crushing those seeking shelter behind it.
The eight carriages were so packed with people that the doors could not be opened while they filled with water, drowning almost everyone inside as the water washed over the wreckage several more times. The passengers on top of the train were thrown clear of the uprooted carriages, and most drowned or were crushed by debris. Locomotive #591 ''Manitoba'' was carried , coming to rest in a swamp. Both engineer Janaka Fernando and assistant Sivaloganathan died at their posts. Estimates based on the state of the shoreline and a high-water mark on a nearby building place the tsunami above sea level and higher than the top of the train.
Casualties
Due to the huge scale of the tsunami disaster, the local authorities were unable to cope with the devastation, and emergency services and the military were so overwhelmed that immediate rescue was not possible. In fact, the Sri Lankan authorities had no idea where the train was for several hours until it was spotted by an army helicopter around 4:00 PM. The local emergency services were destroyed, and it was a long time before help arrived. Dozens of people badly injured in the disaster died in the wreckage during the day, and many bodies were not retrieved for over a week. Some families descended on the area determined to find their relatives themselves.
A forensic team from
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
photographed and fingerprinted the unclaimed bodies at Batapola Hospital so the records could be stored and looked at after the bodies were buried.
According to the Sri Lankan authorities, only about 150 people on the train survived. The estimated death toll was at least 1,700 people, and probably over 2,000, although only approximately 900 bodies were recovered, as many were swept out to sea or taken away by relatives. The town of Peraliya was also destroyed, losing hundreds of citizens and all but ten buildings to the waves.
Baddegama Samitha, a
Buddhist monk, helped perform
funeral rites
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect t ...
along with his students. More than 200 of the bodies retrieved were not identified or claimed, and were buried three days later in a
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
ceremony near the torn railway line.
Aftermath
The first anniversary ceremonies were held in the rebuilt town alongside the repaired railway, which still operates a Colombo-to-Galle service, employing the same guard, W. Karunatilaka, who was on the train and survived the disaster.
Locomotive #591 ''Manitoba'' and two of the damaged carriages were salvaged and rebuilt. A wave was added to the locomotive's paint job as a memorial. The rebuilt locomotive and carriages returned to Peraliya on 26 December 2008, and every year since, to take part in a religious ceremony and a memorial, held to remember those who lost their lives.
[Daily Mirror Online Edition, 26 December 2008.]
See also
*
List of rail accidents (2000–09)
*
Transport in Sri Lanka Transport in Sri Lanka is based on its road network, which is centred on the country's commercial capital Colombo. A rail network handles a portion of Sri Lanka's transport needs. There are navigable waterways, harbours and three international airpo ...
*
Sri Lanka Railways
Notes
External links
BBC News ReportBBC first anniversary commemorationSri Lankan accountThe Peraliya Official Website ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. 29 December 2004.
Daily Mirror 26.12.2008
{{Natural disasters in Sri Lanka
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Railway accidents in 2004
2004 in Sri Lanka
History of Sri Lanka (1948–present)
Derailments in Sri Lanka
December 2004 events in Asia
2004 disasters in Sri Lanka