(UTV | BADULLA) – Troops of the Security Forces-Central a few minutes ago around 11.00 AM on Friday (16) after more than 18-hours of search operations traced the remains of the father and the son who were carried away in a strong current in the Haldumulla Welu Oya at Haldummulla, Kalupahana on Thursday evening (15) while both of them with the daughter were bathing in the waterway.
The 4-member family from Maharagama was proceeding to Badulla for the New Year holiday when they stopped over for a bath at Welu Oya. Reports said that the mother of the family walked to the nearest shop to buy some snacks, but the father, son and the daughter before her return had moved into the waters for a bath where all three of them were caught in a strong current and suddenly drifted away.
However, the daughter had managed to save her life by holding on to a bush with the support of civilians but her father and the brother were carried away in swelling waves due to rainfalls experienced in hilly areas away from the location of the incident.
On the instructions of the Commander of the Army, Troops of the SFHQ-Central on the guidelines given by the SF Commander-Central have been engaged in search and rescue operations since Thursday evening. It is believed that both of them would have been drifted down the waterway towards low-lying areas. Troops in the past 18 hours continued their search operations until this morning to find whereabouts of both victims.
