Poson tragedy: Three members of same family swept out to sea

Three persons from the same family are unaccounted for after being swept out to sea at Welipatanwila beach in Ambalantota today (14). 

The missing persons have been identified as Sandya Dharmaseeli (55), her son Dilum Deshitha Jayawickrama (16) and her sister's son Uhanage Don Hirush (22). The first two are residents of Lunama in Ambalantota while the third is a resident of Deniyaya. 

They along with several other family members had visited the Welipatanwila Purana Raja Maha Viharaya in view of Poson Poya today and had gone to the beach located behind the temple when they were swept out to sea by a large wave. 

It is reported that the two males had been swept out to sea first and the woman had jumped in to try and save them, only to be swept out to sea herself. The oldest the woman's son, who was also swept out to sea by the wave, survived, police added. 

A search operation to locate the missing persons is currently underway. 

Text and Pix by Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi