A 31-year-old foreign woman has died after a recreational aircraft carrying her crashed into the sea off the Bentota coast on Wednesday (29), Bentota Police said.
Ada Derana and Daily Mirror both identified the victim as a Palestinian national and described the craft as a parasail operated by an organisation based along the Bentota coastal road. Both outlets reported that the operator, a Colombian national, survived the crash.
Hiru News gave a differing account of the aircraft involved, describing it as a paramotor belonging to a private company that takes tourists on aerial tours, and reporting that it came down because of a technical fault. Hiru placed the crash at around 4.30 p.m. in front of a holiday resort on Beach Road, within the Bentota police division, and said the woman fell into the sea with the craft and was initially reported missing before her body was recovered in the Bentota area.
Accounts of where the body was taken also differ. Ada Derana and Daily Mirror reported that it was placed at the Nagoda Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem examination, while Hiru News said arrangements were made to send it to the Kalutara Teaching Hospital.
Bentota Police have launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the crash. No arrests have been reported.
Bentota, on the south-western coast in the Kalutara district, is one of Sri Lanka’s busiest resort strips and a hub for water sports and aerial recreation aimed at foreign visitors. The death comes as the tourism sector reports rising arrival numbers, and is likely to renew scrutiny of safety standards and licensing among operators running adventure activities along the coast.
Update (July 30): NewsFirst reported further detail on the crash, and described the craft as a paramotor — matching Hiru News rather than the parasail account given by Ada Derana and the Daily Mirror.
According to NewsFirst, the aircraft came down about 700 metres off the Bentota shore while its occupants were viewing the coastal surroundings. The pilot escaped by jumping from the paramotor and swimming to safety, while the woman travelling with him drowned and went missing. Navy divers later recovered her body and it was taken to Nagoda Hospital, which matches the account given by Ada Derana and the Daily Mirror.
NewsFirst identified the victim as a Lebanese national. That is a third version of her nationality: Ada Derana and the Daily Mirror described her as Palestinian, while Hiru News referred to her only as an “Arabic woman”. No official confirmation of her nationality has been reported, and the outlets have not reconciled the discrepancy.
