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Deaths of two divers arouse suspicion of outdated oxygen cylinders
View(s):The deaths of two divers are being probed following suspicion that the Oxygen cylinders they carried may have caused poisoning, Modara Police said.
Acting Magistrate Colombo Fort, M. Liyanage ordered that six oxygen cylinders be sent to the Government Analyst seeking a report on whether the cylinders were outdated.
The first diver had died when he was sent down on November 18 to measure a rock formation that was in the way of ships in the Modara area.
The lifeless body of the victim, Gamini Jagath Kumara, an experienced diver from Hikkaduwa was found by one of his colleagues after they noticed that he was taking a long time to surface.
The JMO who conducted the postmortem ordered that specimens of the body be sent to the Government Analyst’s Department, while the City Corner, Ashrof Rumy ordered that the Oxygen Cylinder be sent to the Government Analyst for a report within three weeks.
Two days later another diver who was sent to attend on a shipwreck in the Modara area was also found dead minutes after he dived.
The victim was Suranjith Dhananjaya, 32 from Galle.
Sergeant S. Jayasekara of the Modara police in his evidence at the Magisterial inquiry into the second death said that after the first death instructions had been given to the Stores at the Ports Authority not to use five of the Oxygen cylinders, but the advice had been ignored.
Investigations are being carried out under the directions of Modara police Chief inspector Sujeewa Wijewardena.