One schoolchild remains missing and two others have been rescued after strong sea currents dragged three of six children away from the shore at Galle Face Beach in Colombo on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
The group of six children — all aged around 15 and residents of Maligawatte — had gone sea bathing at the popular Colombo seafront when three of them were caught in the rip currents, Ada Derana reported. Two were pulled out of the water and rushed to hospital, one of them in critical condition.
A search operation has been launched by Sri Lanka Navy divers to locate the third child, who was last seen as the currents pulled the group away from the beach. Newswire reported that rescue teams had been deployed to the area shortly after the incident was reported in the late afternoon.
Galle Face Green is one of Colombo’s most-visited public spaces, but its open shoreline carries persistent rip-current risks that have produced repeated drowning and near-drowning incidents over the past year. The site has no dedicated lifeguard service, and authorities have previously asked the public not to enter the water during the southwest monsoon season — currently active across the western and southern coasts — when wave heights and currents intensify sharply.
The Maligawatte schoolchildren’s outing comes a day after the Meteorological Department’s wave advisory framework remained in force for the western and southern coasts, with monsoon conditions expected to continue through June and July.
Update — June 11: An 11-year-old schoolboy from Maligawatte has died after being admitted to the Colombo National Hospital, Ada Derana reported on Thursday morning, citing police. A second child, a 10-year-old also from Maligawatte, remains missing and police lifesaving units and Navy diving teams are continuing extensive search operations in the area. Authorities revised the original account: all six children were swept away by the strong currents while bathing, with five eventually rescued through the joint efforts of members of the public, police officers and Sri Lanka Navy personnel. Two of the rescued children were admitted to the Colombo National Hospital and three to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for treatment. The 11-year-old who succumbed had been among those admitted to the National Hospital. The updated toll — one confirmed death and one still missing — supersedes Wednesday’s initial reports, which had described three of the six being swept away.
