American National Falls To His Death While Picking Cloves

An American national who was living in Sri Lanka and married to a local, had fallen and died when he was engaged in picking cloves on a 30-foot tall tree in his compound in Ulapanawatta in Gampola on Saturday evening.

The deceased identified as 52-year-old Bruce Edward Pedros was a native of the California State in the USA.

The foreigner who came as a tourist nine years ago had befriended a youth who was running a restaurant in the Gampola Town. Later, he met the latter’s sister and married her. He then bought a property with a house in the Ulapanewatta area in Gampola where he was living with his wife and a two-yearold son for the past four years.

Pedros who decided to remain in Sri Lanka by renewing his tourist visa every year was a nature lover and a keen planter. He was growing cloves in his compound and was vehemently against felling trees.

On Saturday, he was engaged in picking cloves they would be accountable for the consequences. Instead, the police was alerted and two hours later he was taken to the Gampola Hospital and later transferred to the Kandy Hospital and soon succumbed to his injuries the same night. The police took his son who was inside the house playing a video game alone.

The police had informed the American Embassy in Colombo about his demise and to notify his relatives back in the USA.

The post mortem will be conducted in the Kandy General Hospital. HQI Gampola Police Upali Yapa is conducting inquiries. whilst his son was alone in the house as his wife Rajeshwary was away on a visit to her parental home as she was ill. The victim fell from the tree when he stepped on a broken branch around 3.00 pm. The neighbours who heard the cries rushed to the scene and did not make any attempt to rush the injured man to the hospital due to the fear that