Three members of the same family have gone missing after being caught in a sea wave on the Ussangoda beach, Ambalantota Police said.
The accident had taken place when a group of pilgrims who came to pay homage to a temple in Ussangoda had gone to the beach.
A mother, a son and the son of the mother’s sister have been swept away by the wave. The mother is 55 years old. The son is 16 years old. The sister’s son is 22 years old, police said.
While two groups were came to the temple, only one group was swept away by the waves. Police say a large wave had came to where they were and the four people had been swept away at that time. Only one of them has survived. People on the beach say the other three were swept away by a second wave while they were coming towards the land.
The Navy has already launched an operation to find the three victims.
