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Death toll rises to 13 after boat capsizes off southern Sri Lanka

Xinhua, February 22, 2017 Adjust font size:

Rescue teams on Wednesday recovered two more bodies after a passenger boat capsized in Sri Lanka's southern seas on Sunday, bringing the total death toll to 13.

The police said the bodies of a 28-year-old male and a seven-year-old child were found on Wednesday as search operations continued by the Sri Lanka Navy.

Several Navy boats and divers have been deployed in the search operations since Sunday.

The passenger boat, which capsized on Sunday morning in the seas off Kalutara, had been transporting passengers to a wedding.

The Navy said the overloaded boat had been a fishing trawler and had not followed the safety regulations as its passengers had not worn life jackets.

Since Sunday 32 passengers were rescued by rescue teams and they were receiving treatment at two local hospitals.

The government has said that it would pay compensation to the victims of the disaster and to those injured while the Fisheries Ministry has imposed a new regulation banning fishing boats from being used to transport passengers. Endit