News
Trapped in Minneriya: Fishermen dared to tread where authorities failed
The unavailability of rescue teams and delayed response from the authorities resulted in a group of foreigners and locals being stranded smack in the middle of the Minneriya National Park and eventually rescued towards midnight by area fishermen.
The group consisting of four British nationals, four Germans, six Arabs including children of the ages of five and six, 16 locals including tour guides and two officers of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) were trapped in the National Park after the Kirioya tank overflowed due to heavy rains, flooding the park.
 Relieved to be rescued: The group leaving Minneriya Park close to midnight. Pic by K.G. Karunaratne |
 |
Speaking to the Sunday Times, the Head of Eco Tourism of a leading hotel said the groups had set off together and returned around five p.m. on Wednesday, except for those who got trapped. They had decided to stay longer than necessary, he said.
“The Minneriya National Park is basically split into two sections and one needs to snake through the high forest to get to the Kirioya crossing point which is a lowland,” he said.
“Kirioya is usually dried up, but with the first rains of the monsoon water levels can reach up to six feet in a matter of minutes,” he added.
“We set out at around 2 p.m., when one of the jeeps got stuck in the mud,” said Akila Edirisinghe, a guide who was present at the time of the incident. We passed the Kirioya crossing point which was dry at that time”. However to their horror, torrential rains came down flooding the crossing point in a matter of minutes.
“We were trapped on the way back and the water levels had reached up about 10 feet,” he added. Another guide present at the scene said the six jeeps had got stuck in succession, and water flowed in from all directions.
Akila, and other private tour guides had radioed the park authorities as well as the Habarana Police.
“We waited for several hours – they promised to help but there was no such help from the authorities”. One of the guides managed to contact the newly appointed North Central Province Chief Minister but to no avail.
In a desperate move the guides had contacted their colleages on the other side of the Kirioya and they had sent some fishermen to their rescue and they managed to get across in their fishing boats.
Jackie Hepworth, one of the four Britons told the Sunday Times that the rains came down suddenly.
“It was very traumatising and we were quite frightened as a pack of three elephants were closing in on us,” she said adding that the local fishermen were the real heroes of the day.
“The police are blaming us for taking the foreigners to the crossingpoint, but they should realise that this is our livelihood, and
tourists are always persistent about getting the best sights of wildlife,” Akila said.
When the Sunday Times contacted the Habarana Police they said that rescue teams were deployed to the Kirioya crossing point, but their access was hampered.
Follow @timesonlinelk
Related Posts:
Witness the world’s 6th greatest animal spectacle at Cinnamon Lodge and Chaaya Village Habarana‘The Gathering’ of elephants at the Minneriya National Park, named by National Geographic as the ‘6th greatest animal spectacle of ...
Jaywalking: What’s sauce for the goose is also sauce for the ganderLast Tuesday, July 24, police began enforcing the law against jay walkers who did not adhere to pedestrian crossing rules. Our ...
Drought: There’s not a drop to drinkPeople in Puttalam are struggling to get potable water. The failure of the monsoon rains has posed a serious threat ...
Flooded out!Blockages are preventing water from the Dummalamodera Ela flowing into the lagoon at Kalutara. The ela often overflows because the water ...
Public see red as police and CMC go in circlesMalfunctioning traffic light systems in Colombo city are adding to the already chaotic traffic, with the police and CMC giving ...