Updated April 17: The death toll from the Deduru Oya drowning tragedy has risen to six after search teams recovered four more bodies on Friday morning, police confirmed.
A group of approximately 15 people went to bathe at a crossing of the Deduru Oya near Kuritiyagahamulamankade in the Nikaweratiya, Kobeygane area on Wednesday. Strong currents swept several of them away. Two bodies — a 70-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman — were recovered on the first day, and four more were found during continued search operations on Friday.
Police, supported by a Sri Lanka Navy diving unit, are still searching for the remaining missing persons, including two men aged 39 and 72, a woman aged 42, and three children aged 9, 13 and 18, according to Newswire. Two survivors were rescued and admitted to Nikaweratiya Hospital.
The tragedy adds to a devastating toll from the Avurudu holiday period. A separate drowning at a spot along the Mahaweli at Habaraduwa earlier in the week also claimed a life, and the Avurudu road death toll has climbed past 49 for the week.
Police and rescue teams have appealed to the public to avoid entering rivers at unfamiliar locations, particularly in groups and without life jackets. Submerged rocks, sudden drop-offs and variable currents in the Deduru Oya have been blamed for past fatalities in the same stretch.
