Post-mortem examinations have been conducted on seven of the 13 people who died in the Anguruwathota elder’s home fire, as police step up identification work and prepare to bury unclaimed victims at state expense, NewsFirst reported on Monday.
The June 3 blaze at the Batagoda care facility in the Kalutara district killed 13 residents and injured five — a toll that has climbed steadily from the 11 confirmed last week as critically injured patients succumbed to their burns. Six of the bodies have been moved to the Teaching Hospital Nagoda morgue, while seven remain at Horana Hospital, police said.
Most of the deceased have been identified by relatives, NewsFirst reported. Two bodies remain unclaimed; authorities said any victim not collected by family will be laid to rest at state expense after 14 days, in line with standard procedure.
Investigations have confirmed that the home was operating without official registration, the broadcaster said. The institution’s director has been remanded pending further proceedings, after the Horana Magistrate’s Court ordered detention on the basis of the rescue and casualty evidence reviewed last week.
The fire — which broke out shortly after midnight on June 3, killed elderly residents trapped in locked rooms and forced the rescue of 44 others — has become the central case driving a Government push for mandatory registration of residential elder-care facilities across the island. Minister of Women and Child Affairs Saroja Savithri Pannilage announced last Thursday that a new law would replace the voluntary regime under which Batagoda had been operating informally for years.
Source: NewsFirst — Post-mortems conducted on seven victims of Anguruwathota elder’s home fire.
