Committee appointed to probe Ampara skydiving tragedy

Colombo (News 1st);  An officer of the Sri Lanka Air Force was killed when his parachute got entangled with the parachute of another airman during an air exercise on Saturday (20).

The Media Director of Sri Lanka Air Force said, between 0730 - 0745 on Saturday (20) a parachute entanglement involving two parachutes took place approximately between 40 - 70 feet, due to a sudden change in wind direction. The two airmen involved were immediately rushed to the Ampara General Hospital where Squadron Leader Manoj Padmathilake was ruled dead by hospital staff. Seargent P. A. K. C. Abeykoon, the other airman is currently receiving treatment at the ICU of the Ampara General Hospital. The duo was attached to the Wanni Camp of the Sri Lanka Air Force and reported to the Ampara Air Force Camp on the 11th of January 2021 for a free-style parachute exercise. Squadron Leader Manoj Padmathilake was a product of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and joined the Sri Lanka Air Force in 2008. He was a past pupil of Vidyartha College, Kandy. Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana has appointed a committee to investigate the tragedy.