Naval officer gone missing after boat capsizes

There is no news yet about the Sri Lanka Navy Lieutenant, who went missing after one of its boats capsized on Sunday night in the sea of Arippu in Mannar, the Navy said yesterday.

Acting Navy Spokesman Ruwan Premaweera said three sailors and lieutenant W.S. Wijesinghe attached to SLNS Rathnadeepa had used a small boat to search for a suspicious vessel in the area when the boat capsized.

The three sailors had escaped unhurt but the lieutenant had gone missing.

Lieut. Commander Premaweera said the Navy with the help of the Sri Lanka Air Force had launched a search and rescue operation in the area.

The missing officer is a resident of Ragama.(Darshana Sanjeewa)