Three die in poisonous mine at Avissawella

Considering a number of recent fatal accidents, authorities are warning the people not to go into abandoned mines due to the danger posed by poisonous gases.

In the latest incident at Avissawella, three people died after being exposed to poisonous gas at a mine.

Coroner H. M. Wijepala said the mine, which was illegally excavated, had been abandoned for several months. It had been dug 25-30 ft deep. Poisonous gas had been produced as the face of the mine had been covered with polythene for a long time. There was 1 ½ ft deep stagnant dirt and water inside the mine, he said.

The coroner also said Government authorities had been negligent in their duties in relation to the mine.

“This was an illegal mine. The Gem and Jewellery Authority has a responsibility to take action against them. The local Public Health Inspector (PHI) is also to be blamed. The place is infested with mosquitoes and is a breeding ground for them. What was the PHI doing? The local Grama Niladhari should also be held responsible as the official should have known about this mine,”the coroner said.

In a typical year, several people meet with accidents that occur in abandoned mines. Some of these accidents can be prevented if citizens know the danger of these properties, if landowners made better efforts to warn and limit access, he added.

Those who died were identified as Jayasinghe Arachchige Asanka Rajapaksha (27) resident of Avissawella and father of one, Dinisha Lakshan Chandrasiri (16) a student of St Mary's College Avissawella and Kushan Dananjaya Lekamge (25), son of the owner of the property .

Dinisha, had tried to remove two chickens that had fallen into the mine but had fallen unconscious and tumbled into it. His friends who tried to rescue him too had fallen inside.

Police said the three people had fallen into the abandoned mine around 7.45 pm and they became unconscious due to the inhalation of the gas. Dananjaya's father also tried to rescue the victims but as he also felt dizzy he had to come out. The victims were rescued by another worker with the help of a ‘dabare,’ a basket used to extract the gem gravel from the clay. The three died after being admitted to the Avissawella Base Hospital.

Speaking at the inquest into the deaths, Nimal Nandasiri (48) father of Dinisha said he runs a shop selling chickpeas.

“I was at home on the night of the incident when someone came over and informed us that my son had fallen into the mine.”

Asanka Rajapaksha's wife, Iresha Lakmali (25) said they had been married for five years and had a son who is three years old. She said the incident had occurred when her husband had been coming back from work.

Under the instructions of Police Senior Superintendent U.N.P. Liyanage, Avissawella Police Inspector Vikum Weerasekara and his team are leading further investigations. Additional reporting by

Somasiri Hingurala