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Five-year-old Sri Lankan boy left on school bus found walking alone 10km from home in Melbourne

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The parents of a five-year-old boy who was left behind on a Coober Pedy school bus last week say better procedures are needed to safeguard against potential tragedies.

The family said the driver of the Coober Pedy Area School bus that Thinula Rayon Hettiarachchi got on last Wednesday afternoon failed to drop him at home. He was then left inside the vehicle after it was parked up at the end of the school round.

Thinula was found walking alone on the side of a dirt road heading towards the Stuart Highway later that day, more than 10 kilometres from his home.

“My child opened the [bus] door and walked one kilometre to find us, heading towards the Stuart Highway,” the boy’s father Gayan Indunil Hettiarachchi told SBS News.

“We couldn’t believe it. We never expected anything like this to happen,” the boy’s mother Chintha Rohini Sinhapurage said.

The couple, who are originally from Sri Lanka and moved to the outback mining town from Melbourne four years ago, estimated their son was walking alone for more than an hour, carrying his school backpack in the humid 32-degree heat.

“I don’t know what was going through his mind,” Ms Sinhapurage said. “He told me ‘I cried and I got angry.’”

“I never wanted to hear that kind of thing.”

Thinula told his parents he waited on the bus for so long he wet his pants and eventually opened the door and got off.

“Luckily he turned left. If he turned right there are so many mine shafts we don’t know what could have happened,” Mr Hettiarachchi said.

“My main concern is they do not follow a procedure. They need to check the bus after every shift and make sure no one is left.”

The incident follows the death of a three-year-old boy who was left on a childcare bus in Cairns last year.

Thinula’s parents made a formal complaint to the school the day after the incident, following a phone call from the school. They asked the school to “urgently” clarify how the incident happened and what action would be taken.

“There has been negligence at the extreme level, by the school and its workers when dealing with a very young kid,” the written complaint said. The couple said they did not receive a response until they followed it up on Monday.

The day after the incident a letter from Coober Pedy Area School principal Maurice Saah was sent to parents saying the school was aware of “an incident in which a child was left unsupervised on a bus”, and that it had been reported to South Australia’s Department of Education.

“The matter is under investigation and we anticipate the department will provide its findings to us in coming weeks,” the letter continued.

“In the interim we have taken steps to make sure this cannot happen again, reinforcing the protocol that ensures all children are accounted for at pick up and drop off.”

“We have contacted the family and expressed our sincere apology.”

Mr Saah told SBS News in a statement on Tuesday: “We unreservedly apologise for what has happened”.

“My priority is the welfare of the child and rebuilding trust with the family and we are working to regain their confidence.”

“We will also be cooperating fully with the investigation and taking any further actions identified as a result of that process.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Education told SBS News “a lead investigator has been appointed by the department to examine this matter”.

The couple said their son was still traumatised by the incident and recounted the story of his ordeal daily, including how he was “saved by the nice lady”.

Thinula was found by local woman Ariane Montminy-Roberge. She said he was confused but said he was OK when she asked him how he was.

“He said, ‘I’m looking for my grandmother.’”

Ms Montminy-Roberge offered to help him and soon tracked down a phone number for his parents through a teacher at the school.

“If I hadn’t found him and he’d wandered in another direction, no one would have known what happened to this child,” she said.

Thinula’s parents said they are considering legal action. (sbsnews)



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Landslide RED warnings issued to the districts of Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matale and Nuwara Eliya extended up to 1600 hrs today [07]

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The Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued  landslide early warnings to the districts of Badulla, Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matale, Matara, Monaragala, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura effective from 16:00 hrs on 06.12.2025 to 16:00 hrs on 07.12.2025.

Accordingly,
LEVEL III RED  warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pathadumbara, Kundasale, Pathahewaheta, Panvila, Medadumbara, Doluwa, Thumpane, Udunuwara, Deltota, Ganga Ihala Korale, Pasbage Korale, Yatinuwara, Hatharaliyadda, Ududumbara, Minipe, Udapalatha, Gangawata Korale, Akurana, Poojapitiya and Harispattuwa in the Kandy district, Thumpane, Udunuwara, Deltota, Ganga Ihala Korale, Pasbage Korale, Yatinuwara, Hatharaliyadda, Ududumbara, Minipe, Udapalatha, Gangawata Korale, Akurana, Poojapitiya and Harispattuwa in the Kegalle district, Alawwa, Rideegama, Polgahawela, Mallawapitiya and Mawathagama inthe Kurunegala district, Ukuwela, Naula, Yatawatta, Laggala Pallegama, Pallepola, Matale, Rattota, Ambanganga Korale and Wilgamuwa in the Matale district, and Hanguranketha, Mathurata, Nildandahinna and Walapane in the Nuwara Eliya district

LEVEL II AMBER warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Uva Paranagama, Badulla, Kandeketiya, Bandarawela, Soranathota, Hali_Ela, Meegahakivula, Ella, Welimada, Haputhale, Lunugala, Haldummulla and Passara in the Badulla district, Narammala in the Kurunegala district, Kothmale West, Norwood, Ambagamuwa Korale, Thalawakele, Kothmale East and Nuwara Eliya in the Nuwara Eliya district and Godakawela, Kahawaththa and Kolonna  in the Ratnapura district.

LEVEL I YELLOW warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of  Seethawaka and Padukka in the Colonbo district, Elpitiya and Yakkalamulla in the Galle district, Mirigama, Divulapitiya and Attanagalla  in the Gampaha district, Ingiriya, Bulathsinhala and Horana in the Kalutara district, Pasgoda and Athuraliya in the Matara district, Bibile and Medagama in the Monaragala district, and Kuruwita, Balangoda, Eheliyagoda, Pelmadulla, Kaltota, Kalawana, Openayake, Ayagama, Nivithigala, Imbulpe, Elapatha, Ratnapura and Kiriella in the Ratnapura district.

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618 dead, 209 missing as at 2000hrs on Saturday [06]

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The Situation Report issued by the Disaster Management Center [DMC] at 2000hrs on Saturday [06] confirms that 607 persons have died due to the recent flooding and landslides while another 209 persons were missing.

The death toll in the Kandy district which one of the most affected districts has risen to 232, and 1800 houses have  been fully damaged.The number of missing persons reported is 81

100,124 persons belonging to 29,874 families were being housed at  990 safety centers established by the government.

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Opposition blames govt. inaction for severity of disaster impact

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The government’s failure to act on expert warnings, including advance forecasts on Cyclone Ditwah, had led to the worsening of disaster impact, Udaya Gammanpila, leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, said at a press conference in Colombo yesterday.

Gammanpila accused the NPP government of ignoring 14 key preventive measures, despite alerts from the Meteorology Department, foreign experts, and the media.

Gammanpila said the government had failed to lower the water levels in reservoirs, dredge estuaries, and deploy the armed forces for canal maintenance. Local government bodies were reportedly sidelined, and that led to a delay in cleaning of drains. He said the government had also failed to evacuate people in a timely manner from seven districts identified by the National Building Research Organisation as landslide-prone. It had delayed declaring emergencies or curfews and the deployment of tri-forces to evacuate people in such areas.

Gammanpila said an experienced public official should have been appointed as Secretary to the President to mobilise the state machinery swiftly during the disaster. He said the government had not convened the National Disaster Council.

“These failures worsened the disaster, causing immense hardship, disruption, and loss of life and property to the people,” Gammanpila said.

The government has denied the Opposition’s claims.

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