Seven people killed and twenty more injured as race car in Sri Lanka crashes off track

A racing car crashed into a crowd in Sri Lanka, killing seven people and injuring 20 others. It happened during a competition on Sunday.

Many people watched as a mistake happened during a race in Diyatalawa, a town that grows tea and is about 180 kilometers away from the capital city Colombo.

It was not clear at first what caused the accident.

A police officer named Nihal Thalduwa said that one of the cars went off the track and hit some people who were watching the event. Seven people died, including four government workers. Twenty more people were in the hospital getting medical help, according to Thalduwa. He said three of the hurt people were really hurt.

Thalduwa said the police are looking into the accident that happened during the 17th event out of 24 planned. The race stopped because of the crash.

About 45,000 people came to watch a race at a Sri Lankan military school. The Sri Lankan army and Sri Lanka Automobile Sports worked together to plan the event.