Tuesday Sep 30, 2025
Tuesday Sep 30, 2025
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| The three foreign monks |
By Shanika Sriyananda
The Foreign Ministry is working with Sri Lanka’s diplomatic missions in India, Romania, and Russia to repatriate the remains of three foreign monks who died in the tragic cable car accident at the Na Uyana Aranya Forest Monastery in Pansiyagama, Kurunegala.
Seven monks were killed and six others seriously injured when the monastery’s cable car—known as “Dakkuwa”—plunged on 24 September while transporting 13 monks back to the hilltop monastery after a religious ceremony.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Thushara Rodrigo said the temple had requested the Ministry Secretary to obtain the consent of the relatives of the deceased monks to hold final rites at the monastery.
“We have contacted the relatives of the Indian monk through our High Commission in India and they wish to take the remains to India. We are coordinating it at the moment,” Rodrigo told Daily FT.
He added that the Ministry had informed Sri Lanka’s missions in Romania and Russia to contact the next of kin of the two other deceased monks to obtain their consent on funeral arrangements. “We are waiting for their response,” he said.
The deceased monks were identified as Ven. Dhammagavesi Thera (31) of India, Ven. Dhammarasī Thera (48) of Romania and Ven. Dhamarakkhita Thera (48) of Russia.
Kurunegala Teaching Hospital Director Dr. Mihiri Priyangani confirmed that six local monks with serious injuries remain under treatment. “Two monks are in the orthopaedic ward, two in the Intensive Care Unit and the other two in a regular ward,” she said.
According to the monastery’s website, Na Uyana spans over 5,000 acres of forest on the Dummiya mountain range and is home to about 150 Buddhist monks. It is one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent meditation monasteries, with ancient cave dwellings, Brahmi inscriptions, and a stupa complex dating back to the 3rd century BCE.
Temple Society Secretary D. Ranatunga said the monastery has used the cable car for 23 years, with weekly maintenance checks. “There are 185 monks from Malaysia, Germany, USA, Singapore, Thailand, Nepal, China and Myanmar residing here. Some of the 13 monks involved in the accident have been here for 2, 5 or even 10 years and were familiar with the cable car’s functions,” he said.
Ranatunga noted that the cable car’s weight limit was 500 kg and may have been exceeded during the trip up the steep slope, which is 100 metres from the main temple.
The Magistrate has directed police to seek assistance from mechanical engineers to determine the cause of the crash and to investigate any possible criminal negligence. A specialist judicial medical officer at the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital has been instructed to conduct the post-mortems.
The funeral of the four local monks will take place tomorrow at 5 p.m. at the Pansiyagama Cemetery, one kilometre from the temple.
Meanwhile, former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe extended their condolences, while Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath expressed his sympathies via a post on X.
