A 19-year-old youth died after a bicycle with failed brakes fell into a water pit.

A nineteen-year-old youth has unfortunately died in the Gampola Pussellawa area after the brakes of his bicycle failed, causing it to overturn into a water-filled pit. The youth who lost his life has been identified as Anuhas Pramuditha, a resident of the Doragala Kithulbedda area.

It is also mentioned that he was a student preparing to sit for this year's G.C.E. Advanced Level examination as a private candidate.

At the time of this tragedy, the deceased youth was traveling on the bicycle with his fifteen-year-old cousin, a school student. While traveling downhill on a sloped road with his younger cousin named Gihan Sudesh, the bicycle's brakes suddenly failed. Investigations have revealed that to stop the rapidly moving bicycle, they subsequently attempted to steer it into a ditch by the side of the road. However, that attempt failed, and the bicycle also collided with a coffee plantation with barbed wire before finally falling into a large water pit near the road.

According to police information, this water pit was constructed to supply water to vegetable cultivations in the area, and its depth is about fifteen feet. After falling into the pit, these two cousins engaged in a desperate struggle to save their lives. The younger cousin grabbed onto an embankment of the pit and made a strong effort to hold onto his elder brother as well. However, as it was an extremely difficult task, the elder youth's hand slipped, and he sank underwater.

Subsequently, hearing the cries of the younger cousin who was clinging to the pit's embankment, local residents who arrived at the scene immediately pulled both of them out and arranged to take them to Gampola Hospital. However, the police confirmed that by the time they were admitted to the hospital, the nineteen-year-old youth had already passed away. The post-mortem examination of the deceased student related to the incident is scheduled to be conducted at the Gampola Teaching Hospital, and the Pussellawa Police are conducting further investigations into the matter.