Four Dead, Three Injured in Landslide at Kadugannawa

23-Nov-2025

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Four people have died and three others have been injured after a mound of earth and a large boulder collapsed onto a house and shop near the Kanathenna junction in the Pahala Kadugannawa area in Kegalle District. The landslide occurred between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m. on November 22.

Three people were rescued shortly after the incident and admitted to the Mawanella Hospital.

Following intensive rescue efforts that continued for around six hours, a woman was found alive at approximately 3:00 p.m. and taken to the hospital. By around 5:00 p.m., the bodies of three more people were recovered. By evening, the incident had claimed the lives of three men and one woman, while at least four injured persons had been admitted to hospital.

Rescue teams from the military, the Disaster Management Centre, the fire brigade, and local residents joined efforts, as more individuals were believed to be trapped under the debris.

One of the four initially rescued persons later died due to injuries. According to residents, the landslide buried a roadside shop and several vehicles parked nearby. Traffic along the Colombo–Kandy main road was severely affected for several hours.

The police temporarily closed the road and advised motorists to use alternative routes. Later, traffic was allowed on a single lane.

The Director of the National Building Research Organization, Wasantha Senarathna, stated that the areas between 97–99 km in this region had been assessed as high-risk zones for landslides and reported 

accordingly. He urged traders and motorists using the route to exercise extreme caution.

The rescue work involved personnel from the 8th Singha Regiment and two military rescue teams comprising 16 and 30 officers respectively.