A 19-year-old youth drowned and a middle-aged woman was crushed to death under a collapsed parapet wall in two separate cases reported from Grandpass yesterday due to the hostile weather conditions.

The youth, Mohamed Badurdeen Mohamed Ahildeen, a resident of De Mel Watta area was drowned when he had tried to retrieve a ball that fell into the Melwatta Canal. Due to the heavy rain and strong currents the youth had instantly been dragged away downstream, Police Media Unit said.

Eyewitnesses immediately informed the Grandpass Police and people in the area started to search the missing youth. The police had sought the assistance of the Navy divers to find the teenage boy.

Meanwhile, a 54-year-old woman living in a temporary settlement in Ferguson Road in Grandpass was killed on the spot when an adjoining parapet wall, collapsed on her yesterday evening.

The victim identified as Anulawathie, police said. (Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana)