Tragedy as mum killed in Sri Lanka after taxi plunges off cliff

Family and friends of an Australian woman are in mourning after she died when the taxi she was travelling in on holiday lost control.

An Australian woman has died while on holiday in Sri Lanka after a taxi she was travelling in plunged off a cliff.

Sharita Devi, 67, from Hoxton Park in Sydney’s west, was in the cab with her daughter Shami Shivangi Prakash, 30, on Monday when their driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle.

The pair were to heading to Hemmathagama, a town around 100km northeast of the capital Colombo when tragedy struck.

Ms Prakash and the driver were injured in the accident and taken to a nearby hospital, but Ms Devi, who is of Fijian-Indian background, unfortunately could not be saved.

The police said a preliminary investigation revealed the driver had been travelling at high speeds when he lost control of the car and ran it off the road, causing it to roll down the cliff, the Indian Tribune reported.

Sharita Devi, 67, from Hoxton Park in Sydney’s west, tragically died while on holiday in Sri Lanka. Picture: Facebook

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have been providing consular assistance to the Devi family.

“Consular officials from the High Commission in Colombo are supporting another Australian woman who was injured in the accident,” a department spokesperson told Nine News.

“We send our deepest condolences to the family.”

Ms Prakash said she was still in shock as she told family and friends her mother is “no longer in this world”.

“I cannot believe that I am even writing this,” she said on Facebook, according to the Daily Mail.

The taxi she was travelling in reportedly lost control and plunged off a cliff. Picture: Facebook

“Mum and I had been in Sri Lanka, where we had … a tragic accident. This accident took along with it not only amma but my crown, my soul, my pride, my living.”

Ms Prakash shared a touching tribute to her mother – a poem in Hindi which writes that even though death has all the power, nothing compares to a mother.

Tributes have poured in for the highly respected and much-loved woman. Picture: Facebook

“The sun and the moon are here, but yet there’s no one as splendid as you. There’s no one like my mother,” she wrote, according to an English translation.

She described her mother as her “crown, soul and pride”.

“Rest in peace my … what do I refer to you as? Amma, beta, pulleh, friend, dad, sister. You held all titles for me,” Ms Prakash continued.

The tragic news has left many in disbelief with tributes pouring in for the much-respected woman believed to be a popular figure among the Fijian community in Sydney.

“Our deepest condolences and sympathy to the grieving family. Om Shanti Shanti,” one person wrote.

“Our sincere condolences to her children. Rest in peace beautiful soul,” said another friend.

Others described her as a “lovely soul”.

“She was a such a kind humble individual and will be missed so much,” one said.