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Lost on Hantane
View(s):Poorly ‘equipped’ undergrads overcome by dark swirling mist, heavy rain and numbing cold in nightmare descent to safety
By Aanya Wipulasena
Inoka Sanjeewani from Embilipitiya was amongst nearly 400 undergrads from the University of Sri Jayawardhanapura, looking forward to an adventurous trip last Sunday, when they decided to climb the Hantane mountain off Kandy, but it turned out to be a nightmare.
As it was the first annual outing organised by the first-year students of the Arts Faculty, she was thrilled to go with her batch-mates.
Mist covered mountain range
With approval from the campus authorities, they left for Kandy last Sunday (16) morning. At the Peradeniya Campus they were joined by about 80 undergrads from Vavuniya University and some guides, to climb Hantane with them.
“The outing was initiated by the undergrads because most of them hadn’t been there and also it was the closest of the places proposed by some students,” said Sanjeewani. “When we started the climb, everything seemed fine and it was fun.”
However, towards noon it started to rain heavily. “When we stopped for lunch around 1 in the afternoon, the whole area was shrouded by dark mist and it started to rain heavily. The guides asked us to make a fire because it was getting very cold and some of the girls were shivering,” said S. Sandhika from Tissamaharama.
As there was no sign of the dark clouds dissipating nor the rain ceasing, the guides decided to trail back.
“We weren’t lost.
We were on track but, because of the thick mist, visibility was almost nil. The boys helped the girls climb down, while the guides in front with torches led the group. It was very muddy and some lost their footing as the trail was wet and slippery. There was a place where we had to use ropes to climb down over a very slippery rock,” said Sanjeewani of her chilling experience.
When they managed to climb down to base, Peradeniya undergrads were already there to help the victims. “A busload of Peradeniya undergrads came to our aid. With their help, we were able to get almost all the girls and most of the male students to the tower at the foot of the Hantane mountain, where our buses were parked,” Sandhika said. “There we met some Army personnel who had arrived to rescue us. Even though there was no need, they took the students to Kandy hospital, where the climbers were given bed sheets to cover themselves and discharged around 6 a.m. the following morning.”
Originally, the plan was to descend around 6 p.m. on the same day, but due to adverse weather conditions, it was almost midnight when all the climbers were safely back in their buses.
S. Priyankara from Wennappuwa was one of the organisers of the trip. “The seniors went to Hantane a couple of weeks before us. As it was safe, they told us that Hantane will be ideal for our annual trip. After organising the trip well with first aid committees and others to look after food supplies, we got permission from the Vice Chancellor (VC) of Sri Jayawardenapura University. This approval wouldn’t have been granted if the VC thought the outing was risky,” he said.
Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Vavuniya Campus, Dr Krishna Kumara said that all arrangements for the trip were made with care and that the students returned to Vavuniya none the worse for the experience.
However, Brigadier Udayantha Wijeratne who led the rescue mission, said that the students were safely taken to hospital around 4.30 in the morning. “Following a student’s 119 call around 8.30 pm, 220-250 army personnel well equipped with torches and ropes, along with a medical team and ambulances in support, were sent to Hantane,” he said.
According to Brigadier Wijeratne, when the students were found, they were in a bad state. “Most of my men had to carry these students, because they were shaken and cold. When the students were brought down safely, I wanted them to go to hospital for a medical checkup. Director of the Kandy National Hospital extended his fullest cooperation, and the students restored to their normal state.”
“I think this trip was not properly planned. As this is the rainy season, Hantane is a bad destination to visit. Also, we learnt that these undergrads started to climb late, and were badly prepared, as some of them were climbing in slippers. However, they were all safely sent back. If we waited till morning, there would have been fatalities, because it was very cold and raining heavily,” he added
There were other incidents of local tourists left stranded by adverse weather conditions. About 67 local tourists were stranded due to landslides and floods when they visited the Knuckles forest reserve.
Also, 10 foreign tourists were marooned in Wasgomuwa Wildlife Park, and the Bakamuna police with assistance from the army rescued them.
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