Mistaken for wild boars: Two men shot dead by hunters

Two men aged 18 and 31, who were mistaken for wild boars, were killed after they were shot at by a group of hunters inside a forest reserve near the Siyambalawa Wewa in Karuwalagaswewa early yesterday.

Police said a group of six men including the two victims had been cutting Kumbuk trees illegally and had hid behind some bushes when a group of three hunters had passed by.

Investigations revealed that the hunters had shot at the bushes after hearing noises and assuming there were wild boars behind the bushes.

The men who had fired shots had fled the scene and the two victims were taken to the Puttalam Base Hospital in a lorry.

18-year-old Lenin Roshan and 31-year-old Piyal Rathnasiri, a father of one, were pronounced dead on admission to the hospital.

The Karuwalagaswewa Police have arrested two men in connection with the shooting. (Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe and Jayantha Wickramarachchi)

Video by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe