SLAS appoints independent committee for investigation

• Taken urgent Steps to compensate all the families of victims
• Spectators, positioned themselves in unsafe locations near the track due to curiosity

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama

While the Sri Lanka Army is conducting an inquiry, a three-member independent committee head by a Senior President’s Counsel has been appointed by Sri Lanka Automobile Sports (SLAS) to conduct an Inquiry the tragic incident that occurred during the Fox Hill Supercross 2024 event at Diyathalawa. 

SLAS president Ashhar Hameem said that they have taken urgent Steps to support all the families of victims financially.
He said that an unforeseen racing incident which happened within the track limits resulted in the loss of 7 lives and left 19 injured. Seven person still receiving treatment.
“Despite the challenges we now face, we wish to address certain misconceptions that have arisen. We want to clarify that SLAS and the Sri Lanka Army had no involvement with the “Fox Hill Journey” event scheduled for the same night, which has been incorrectly associated with our organizations. We deeply regret any confusion or distress this misunderstanding may have caused,” the President said.
“We acknowledge that there were spectators, who due to curiosity, positioned themselves in unsafe locations near the track. While we must stress the importance of adhering to safety guidelines at all times, we do not seek to assign blame to any individual or group. Our focus now remains on supporting the families affected in this incident and further standby our SLAS Licenced Competitors,” he said.
“We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation to understand the causes of the incident and to implement additional safety measures to prevent such events from occurring in the future,” Hameem said.