The family from Dik Oya comprised the father Abdul Raheem, 55, mother Aysha Fathima, 45, and daughters Mariam, 13, and Nadeeha, 8, The son, an A-level student was injured.
They had been on their way in a hired van to visit a relative when tragedy struck on the main road near Somerset Estate. The van driver, Nesaj Pillai, 55, was also killed, as was the three-wheeler driver Shanmuga Raj, 25 of Nanu Oya.
Four others who were in the van were injured.The family had a small business making packets of cocktail mixture, commonly known as 'bites'.
Immediately after colliding with the van and three-wheeler, the bus had run off the road and down a hill through the tea fields of Somerset Estate before coming to a halt at the bottom of the hill.