Bodies of over 140 drowning victims recovered by navy within one year

The Sri Lanka Navy said that 148 corpses were recovered from water bodies across Sri Lanka from 22nd May 2022, to 22nd May 2023.

The Diving & Salvage Unit of the Sri Lanka Navy renders its assistance to search persons who go missing in water bodies and recover bodies of drowned persons.

In the past year, from 22nd May 2022 to 22nd May 2023, the Sri Lanka Navy has promptly rendered diving assistance and has recovered 148 corpses of people who died by drowning, due to various causes.

Among the 148 corpses recovered by the Navy in the past year, there were 18 cases of misfortune during fishing, and 111 incidents due to carelessness of people.

The Navy provides free diving assistance to search for drowned persons and recover bodies in response to requests from police stations in various parts of the island. 

However, the Navy said that it faces hardships in these endeavours, as the price of diving equipment has risen steeply and they have to incur a considerable amount of money when transporting men and equipment to distant locations.

By being cautious during daily tasks and fishing activities, it is possible to reduce the number of deaths caused by drowning in water bodies. 

Thus, the Sri Lanka Navy is urging the general public to be mindful and take necessary precautions in order to decrease the occurrence of drowning incidents.