Two male students attached to the Kuruneglaa Memmathulapili Arabic School had died in a boat (barge) tragedy in the Mavil Aru reservoir on July 15. They were identified as M. Mohamed Abdulla (11) and M.H.M. Abdulla (18).
Reports said they were among a group of 80 teachers and students of the school who visited Thoppur, Seruwila to attend a teacher’s wedding.
As they had arrived in the area several hours before schedule, they had agreed take a dip in the Mavil Aru reservoir before attending the wedding.
After they waded into the reservoir, six students including the two diseased students had broken off the main group and swum about a kilometre down stream. Coming across an abandoned barge they had climbed and rowed it.
The six boys had fallen into difficulty as the barge toppled drowning them. Four of them had managed to save themselves by swimming onto onto the banks of the reservoir.Although other members of the group rushed to the scene and retrieved the other two, they were already found to be dead.
Samapura Inquirer into Sudden Deaths W. Gunaratne who held the inquest into the deaths recorded a verdict of death due to asphyxiation due to drowning. Seruwila Police conduced investigations.