Unidentified aircraft comes down in Puttalam

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 15 November 2005, 09:29 GMT]
An unidentified flying object, suspected to be a small aircraft or a helicopter, has come down in the sea 140 km north of Colombo and 2 km off the Ilanthayadi shore at about 10.45 a.m. Tuesday, according to fishermen in the area. None of the Sri Lankan aircrafts or helicopters were reported missing, according to Mr. Ajantha De Silva, the spokesman of the Sri Lanka Airforce (SLAF).

SLAF and the Sr Lanka Navy (SLN) have launched a search to locate the wreck.

Mr. Liyanage Kumara, a fisherman, said that he and fellow fishermen saw a "big fire" that fell into the sea 2 km off the shore. They also heard sound of an explosion in the air, he added.

Ilanthayadi shore close to Nuraicholai is located 11 km west of Puttalam.

Sri Lankan Naval divers searched the area but no wreckage was found, Navy sources said. The search was suspended at 7 p.m. due to heavy rain, according to SLN.

Kalpitty Police said they have concluded the incident as a "false alarm" since there were no visible signatures recorded in any Naval radar systems.