25-2-2025 – A 53-year-old Russian tourist lost her life after attempting to take selfies while precariously positioned on the footboard of a moving train in Sri Lanka.
Perminova Olga, who was traveling with a group of foreign tourists, suffered fatal injuries when she struck a rock formation along the railway line between the Badulla and Hali Ela stations. The impact caused her to fall from the Badulla-Colombo Podimanike train as it traversed the picturesque highland route toward Ella.
The ill-fated journey began this morning when Olga and her companions arrived at Badulla Railway Station and boarded the Colombo-bound service. Shortly after departure, whilst hanging from the train’s exterior footboard to capture photographs, she collided with a rock near a dam structure adjacent to the tracks.
Following the accident, railway staff transported the gravely injured tourist to Hali Ela Railway Station, where she was transferred to medical personnel. Despite being rushed to Badulla Teaching Hospital with severe head trauma, emergency treatment efforts led by senior medical officer Dr. Palitha Rajapaksa and his team proved unsuccessful, and she subsequently succumbed to her injuries.
