Two drown following boat crash

2 September 2012 03:10 pm

Two persons were drowned this evening after the boat they were travelling in crashed into an old concrete pillar on the Dandugan Oya area in Ja-ela.

Police Headquarters said that the boat had been racing against other boats and traveling at speed on the Dandugan Oya. At time of the accident there had been five people aboard the boat. Three had managed to escape and been rescued by the people of the area.

The other two were found to be dead when they were brought ashore, police said

The two men had come to attend a feast at a church in Seeduwa. A large number of people had come in boats to have boat races on the river. The two men were residents of Negombo. One has been identified as Pushpakumara, age 37.

The identity of the second victim has not been established.

The bodies are lying at the Seeduwa Hospital. (SD)