Thanduvan bus massacre­ 17.07.1986

Thanduvan is situated on the Mullaithivu-Vavuniya main road, 4 Kms from Nedunkerni, driving towards Mullaithivu. Thanduvan village is part of the Oddusuddan Assistant Government Agent division in the Mullaithivu district. The main occupation and income of the village is agriculture. People of the village had to travel to Nedunkerni to buy their regular necessities.

On the fatal day of 17.07.1988, many people were in the bus connecting Mullaithivu to Nedunkerni. The bus belonged to the state operated bus service. On that day the Nedunkerni area was cordoned off and searched by the Sri Lankan military under the command of Gen Kobbekaduwa. Supporting and protecting the cordon and search was a military helicopter belonging to the Sri Lankan Air Force.

In this situation, the Thanduvan people in the bus were unable to proceed to Nedunkerni. The bus driver turned back the bus and started to drive back to Mullaithivu. The military helicopter followed the bus and started to fire at the bus. One Km from the Thanduvan school in the direction of Mullaithivu, a rocket was fired at the bus. 17 people in the bus, including the bus driver were killed. A further 13 people in the bus were injured.