A 45-year-old man drowned while bathing in the sea at Moragalla in Aluthgama on Monday, police said.
The victim, a resident of Eheliyagoda, had been bathing with a group of friends when he was swept away by strong currents, according to preliminary investigations. The body was later recovered from the sea and further investigations are being conducted by Sri Lanka Police.
The incident is the latest in a string of sea-bathing fatalities along the western and southern coast as the southwest monsoon strengthens. An 11-year-old boy drowned off Galle Face earlier this month, and authorities have repeatedly urged the public to avoid bathing in unprotected stretches of beach during the monsoon season. The Department of Meteorology has been issuing rolling Amber wind advisories through June for the active southwest monsoon system, which has brought rough seas and strong currents to most of the country’s western and southern shoreline.
Sri Lanka announced earlier this year a push to establish a national drowning prevention and lifesaving mechanism co-ordinated across health, education, disaster management and local government agencies, citing chronic high drowning fatalities particularly during long weekends and the southwest monsoon.
Source: 45-year-old drowns while sea bathing off Moragalla — Ada Derana, June 15.
