COLOMBO — A passenger bus skidded off a cliff in Sri Lanka’s central highlands early Sunday, killing 21 people and injuring at least 14 others, according to officials.

The crash occurred near the town of Kotmale, about 140 kilometers east of Colombo, in the island nation’s mountainous tea-growing region.

Police said the bus was operated by a state-run transport company and was carrying nearly 50 passengers at the time of the accident.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena confirmed the death toll and said the injured were being treated at nearby hospitals. The driver was among those hospitalized.

Local television footage showed the wreckage of the bus overturned at the bottom of a steep ravine, as emergency workers and civilians helped remove the injured.

Deadly bus accidents are frequent in Sri Lanka, particularly in the hill country, where narrow, winding roads combined with speeding and poor vehicle maintenance pose regular hazards. — Agencies