Three adults and two children were reportedly drowned when a boat carrying a group of 16 persons capsized in the sea off Palugasthurai in Mannar this afternoon.
Navy Spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said the boat was carrying a group of civilians on a pleasure trip when the accident occurred.
Eleven persons including both males and females were rescued by the Navy soon after the accident. Four bodies were also recovered shortly after.
A body of a missing child was recovered several hours after the accident. The names of the victims had not been ascertained by the time this edition went to press.