Sri Lanka News, update throughout the day....
Undersea explosions rattle Pamunugama
by Namini Wijedasa
(Reproduced from The Island, June 18th, 2006)
Two undersea explosions shook the coastal inhabitants of Pamunugama near Ja-ela yesterday, shortly after residents apprehended two suspected LTTE frogmen who had swum ashore during the early hours of the morning.
One of the explosions was so powerful that the windows of some nearby houses were shattered. A resident of the area said parts of the ceiling had also come down. "It was definitely a massive bomb," said Gamini Fernando, who runs a grocery shop in the area. "There would have been big damage had it been used on a target."
Spouts of water shot into the air due to the force of the second undersea explosion. Acting on several phone calls made from Sagarasirigama — a village in Pamunugama — police arrived on the beach where residents were keeping the two LTTE frogmen engaged in conversation.
"When they saw the police coming, they quickly exchanged looks and chewed on cyanide capsules," said Jude Saparamadu, a fisherman whose daughter had first spotted the men swimming ashore around 5.45 am.
he police had rapidly undressed the men, tied them up and taken them away, Saparamadu said. Both were taken to the Ragama Hospital. "They were alive at the time," said Hector Serasinghe, a retired state employee from Sagarasirigama.
Police at Ragama Hospital denied reports that the two suspects had taken cyanide. "That is not correct," said Sub Inspect R. M. Ranasinghe. "They were examined by doctors and there was no sign that they had taken cyanide. They were merely suffering from exhaustion from swimming a long distance in the sea."
"The CID took them away," he added. "They walked on their own."
The navy and air force searched the Pamunugama area after the incident. Villagers were asked through loud-hailers to keep a watch on their surroundings and to report any suspicious persons to the police. The black diving suits and oxygen tanks used by the suspects were lying on the beach till late morning. They were removed only after the bomb squad inspected them. There was a heavy presence of army, navy and police personnel at the site.
Asked what the motives of the two LTTE cadres may have been, a navy sailor said: "They seem to have surfaced at the wrong place and become disoriented. The villagers spotted them because there was light at the time."
Police said that among the items recovered from the suspects were a knife and two identity cards. Residents claimed that the men also had "a lot of money" with them. A reserve police officer at the Pamunugama station denied this information.
Saparamadu, whose home is near the beach, said his 14-year daughter had gone in the morning to borrow a bicycle from a neighbour. "She came running back and told me that there was a man coming out from the sea," he recounted. "I, too, saw him bobbing up and down. I also saw something fall into the sea from his back. I think it was due to the force of the water."
It was soon discovered that there were two frogmen in the water. More villagers had gathered on the beach and some attempted to talk to the suspects after they emerged. "One spoke a little Sinhala," said Saparamadu. "He said they came from the Puttalam area."
The men were described as between 20 and 25 years of age. One was short and fair, while the other was tall and dark. "We initially thought they were stranded fishermen," Saparamadu said. "But we became suspicious after seeing a knife and a strange can in the hand of one of them."
This prompted some of the residents to alert the police. Some alleged that the police had arrived at the scene between 15 to 20 minutes after the call, but a policeman at the Pamunugama station responded: "If we got there late, how did we arrest the men?"
Meanwhile, a third LTTE suspect was arrested in a nearby settlement called Settapaduwa. He was taken to the Negombo police for questioning.
( The Island)