(COLOMBO) – Four school boys drowned while another was rescued while bathing in an open water body in North Western Sri Lanka, police said on Thursday.
The incident took place on Wednesday at Alawwa situated some 73 kilometres away from the commercial capital of Colombo, Police Spokesman Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Nihal Thalduwa said.
The victims were identified as Grade Nine students of a local school situated nearby, he said.
The victims were dragged to the deep end of the river despite frantic efforts by villagers to rescue the boys, DIG Thalduwa added.
Sri Lanka has a high number of drowning cases where some 285 deaths were reported in 2023 alone, according to a National Drowning Prevention Report.
The Report also indicated that there are on average 755 drowning deaths each year in Sri Lanka.
