Sri Lanka: 8 missing in Wilpattu Wildlife Park

Colombo, Mar 10: The Sri Lankan Defence Ministry today said a team of eight people, including two Sri Lankan military officials and two soldiers, were missing after they went to inspect the security arrangments inside the Willpattu National Park in the North-Central province.

According to defence sources, the military personnel, accompanied by four officials of the National Park, had gone to the north of the park on a double cab vehicle last friday with a view to assessing the security arrangements with another escort back-up van with soldiers.

''Two senior Army officers, two soldiers, Warden of the Willpattu National Park, three wildlife rangers and their vehicle are missing.

We cannot comment anything more about their fate at the moment until the troops move into the area,'' Military spokesman Brig Prasad Samarasinghe told sources over the phone this morning.

The Defence Ministry in its web-report, however, said the back-up vehicle that followed the double cab had accidentally got submerged in a muddy area and the cab without noticing the vehicle moved ahead into the Kokkarivillu area, about 30 km north of the main entrance to the park.

Meanwhile, in another incident, at least two soldiers were killed and 10 more wounded when the Buffel armoured vehicle, they were travelling in, toppled accidentally at Maha Oya in the Anuradhapura district last night.

The injured soldiers were rushed to the nearby Anuradhapura base hospital.

UNI