A mother and son drown in Pothuhera

COLOMBO (News 1st) - A mother and a son died after drowning in the Kahagama wewa in Pothuhera, Kurunegala. The deceased has been identified as S. Amuda, a mother of five. She had arrived with her husband to her daughter's residence in Pothuhera the previous day. At around 5:00 pm yesterday they had left with another group of people to the Kahagama river to bathe. Area residents say that the 44-year-old Amuda and her 15-year-old son Ishaaq had slipped and fallen into the river. Brother-in-law of Amuda stated that he saved as many as he could but the mother and son were far away from him to be saved. He added that within minutes they disappeared into the water. Our correspondent said that another group from Pothuhera had also arrived at the location and almost suffered the same fate. Area residents said that a mother and her son had fallen into the river and were later rescued. A local was able to save a mother and her son while drowned. R. Ishaaq was a student of Shri Saranankara Sangaraja Maha Vidyalaya. He was the youngest and was preparing for the GCE Ordinary Level Examination next year. The remains lie at the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital morgue and final rites will be performed on December 31st at the Mudunpitiya Cemetery, Bamunawala.