Sri Lanka Navy officers, villagers and rescue teams battled fierce weather to save nearly seventy passengers stranded during the floods near Kala Wewa, in what officials now describe as one of the most daring rescue operations of the disaster.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, speaking in Parliament yesterday, revealed previously unknown details of the overnight mission which began when a bus from Anuradhapura was swallowed by rapidly rising floodwaters.
He said that while some opposition politicians were posting messages from their homes, navy officers were already fighting against violent currents to reach the trapped passengers.
The rescue team first managed to move all passengers onto the roof of a nearby building, just minutes before the bus was washed away.
However, the naval boat used in the operation soon became inoperable due to the force of the water, forcing the three officers to remain on the same asbestos roof they had used to save the victims.
According to the President, helicopters could not be deployed to lift the group as the strong wind generated by the aircraft risked collapsing or blowing away the fragile roof, potentially causing mass casualties. This left the seventy-odd people—civilians and navy officers—exposed on the roof for more than eighteen hours, battered by heavy rain and wind. The President said the calm and courage shown by the three sailors prevented panic and helped keep everyone alive through the night.
With the storm intensifying, all hope rested on a second naval boat returning to the site. He revealed that two young men from the village guided the rescue team through an alternative route, after the earlier path had become impossible to navigate. Using that route, the Navy returned the next morning and rescued the entire group. One passenger later died in hospital.
The President said another mission in Vichikuliya faced a similar challenge, as both naval boats sent for a separate rescue became unusable in violent conditions, forcing the rescue to be completed only at dawn on the following day.
He praised the armed forces and police, stating that the bravery of frontline teams and ordinary citizens continues to save lives in what has become one of Sri Lanka’s most devastating natural disasters. (Newswire)
A rescue mission for the history books.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament how Navy officers saved 70 passengers stranded near the Kala Oya bridge pic.twitter.com/uyCeCwwHhl
— NewsWire 🇱🇰 (@NewsWireLK) December 5, 2025