The underlying story of the incident where three people died after a tree fell on a three-wheeler

That beautiful journey to school, begun with the morning sun's rays, no one would have imagined that a mother's affection and a son's future would be forever buried under a massive tree trunk, fifteen feet in circumference.

This unfortunate accident occurred yesterday (04) around 6:45 AM, when a massive eucalyptus tree near the main road suddenly fell onto a three-wheeler traveling from Mapakanda area, Nawalapitiya, towards Nawalapitiya. Although the driver managed to jump out and save his life as soon as the tree fell, the school student, his mother, and another woman who were traveling in the back seat of the vehicle were trapped inside and died on the spot.

Those who unfortunately died were 14-year-old school student Suresh Vandan, who was studying in the 9th grade at Galaboda Tamil Vidyalaya, and his mother, 42-year-old Sonamuththu Kavitha. 57-year-old Pakkinadan Jenny, who was traveling with them, also lost her life in this tragedy. All three were residents of the Lower Galaboda area, Nawalapitiya. The driver, Nadaraja Selvakumar, who sustained minor injuries after jumping out of the vehicle when the tree fell, is currently receiving treatment at Nawalapitiya Hospital.

According to eyewitnesses, the three-wheeler was completely crushed under the massive tree trunk, which was about fifteen feet in circumference. A driver of a CTB bus traveling towards Galaboda saw the tree tilting and stopped his bus, and at that very moment, the tree crashed onto the three-wheeler that had moved forward. As pointed out by Deputy Inspector General of Police for Kandy and Matale Districts, Mr. Sudath Masinghe, had this tree fallen onto the bus, it would have resulted in a much greater catastrophe. Due to the immense weight of the tree, rescuing the trapped individuals was an extremely difficult task, and by the time residents and the police collectively made a great effort to cut and remove the tree and extract the bodies, all three had already passed away.

However, residents strongly accuse that these deaths were not merely accidental but occurred due to the negligence of the authorities. Relevant institutions, including the Disaster Management Unit, had been informed about this tree, which had been decaying and leaning dangerously towards the road for some time, and requested its removal about six months ago. However, due to the authorities remaining silent, stating that a tree on government land cannot be cut down, three innocent lives were lost on the road today.

If the officials had opened their eyes at the right time, little Suresh would undoubtedly still be cradling his bundle of school books amidst his mother's affection, dreaming about tomorrow.