Youth drowns in Pussellawa

A 19-year-old youth died after two individuals riding a bicycle plunged into a water-filled hole down a slope due to a brake failure, Pussellawa police said.

The victim was Anuhas Pramuditha, a resident of the Doragala Kitulbadda area, who prepared to sit for the GCE Advanced Level examination privately this year.

The youth faced this situation while travelling on the bicycle with his fifteen-year-old cousin, a school student named Gihan Sudeesh.

The brakes of the bicycle failed on the sloping road, and they attempted to stop the bicycle by steering it into the side drain of the road.

However, the speeding bicycle crashed into a barbed-wire coffee plantation and eventually fell into a nearby water-filled hole, our reporter said.

This water hole, used to obtain water for vegetable cultivation in the area, is about 15 feet deep, police noted.

The two brothers who fell into the water-filled hole made a desperate attempt to save themselves, and the younger brother tried to hold onto his older cousin while clinging to the wall of the water hole.

However, as it became difficult, he lost his grip on his older brother, who pulled him under the water.

Hearing the screams of the younger brother clinging to the wall of the water hole, nearby residents acted swiftly, brought both of them ashore, and took steps to admit them to the Gampola Hospital.

However, the 19-year-old youth was already dead when brought to the hospital, police said.

The post-mortem examination of the deceased student was scheduled to be held at the Gampola Teaching Hospital, and the Pussellawa police will conduct further investigations into the incident.