Divers from the Sri Lanka Navy have recovered the remains of 148 victims of drowning over the last year.
According to a Sri Lanka Navy statement, the bodies are those that have been recovered between May 2022 – May 2023.
The Diving and Salvage Unit of the Sri Lanka Navy often assists in searches for persons who go missing in water bodies and have recovered bodies of drowned persons.
Suicide attempts, misfortunes during fishing, bathing in water bodies under the influence of liquor, engaging in waterborne sports without swimming skills, bathing in unknown water bodies and stepping into crocodile-infested waters have been identified as some of the main reasons for deaths in watery depths.
The Navy stated that among the 148 corpses recovered by the Navy in the past year, there were 19 incidents of suicide, 18 cases of misfortune during fishing, and 111 incidents due to the 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 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.
The Navy pointed out that by being cautious during daily tasks and fishing activities, it is possible to reduce the number of deaths caused by drowning in water bodies.
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. (NewsWire)