Sri Lanka bus crash leaves 15 dead

A coach plunged down a precipice in Wellawaya, Sri Lanka (Prasanna Pathmasiri/AP)

A bus has veered off a road and plunged down a precipice in a mountainous region in Sri Lanka, killing 15 people and injuring 16 others.

The accident occurred near the town of Wellawaya, about 174 miles east of the capital Colombo, on Thursday night. The bus fell into a roughly 1,000ft precipice, police spokesman Fredrick Wootler said.