Transport Minister Dallas Alahapperuma yesterday said that the Government has acted swiftly to grant rupees 100,000 as compensation to each of the family members of the 26 civilians killed in last Friday bomb explosion aboard a SLCTB bus at Kahapola junction in Piliyandala.

The Transport Minister said that rupees 25,000 had also been granted to each of the injured.

The Minister, who vehemently condemned the cowardly acts of the LTTE in killing innocent civilians, expressed his heartfelt sympathies to the family members of the deceased and prayed for the quick recovery of those injured.

He said that when the incident took place around 6.40 pm President Mahinda Rajapaksa was meeting a delegation of Adhivasis, who called at Temple Trees. "The President instructed me to co-ordinate with Minister Rischard Buhardeen immediately to release the money for the compensation by 3 pm yesterday.

Initially, we gave rupees 50,000 for funeral and other expenses".

The Director of the Accident Ward at the Colombo National Hospital Dr Anil Jasinghe said that seven of the injured had been transferred from the Kalubowila Hospital while two others had been admitted directly.

He said that it was tragic to note that during bomb blasts of a similar nature Colombo recently, there were many school children among the dead and injured.

In this blast also there were two students attending Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa but they are out of danger.

Of the two females who were admitted, one succumbed to her injuries after admission, he said.

The Director of the Kalubowila Hospital Dr W. G. Gunawardena said that 53 injured were admitted on Friday night of which seven were transferred to the Accident Ward and another seven received OPD treatment and were discharged.