Pipe explosion kills mother and child in Vavuniya

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 24 September 2003, 16:50 GMT]
A mother and her child were killed in Vavuniya Wednesday as a pipe exploded when another child was playing with the pipe at their home in Sekkadipilavu-Selvanagar on Vavuniya-Mannar road, 11 km west of Vavuniya town, sources said.

Though the incident occurred at 3:30 p.m., while the Pongu Thamil festival was being held in Vavuniya, the blast was not connected to Pongu Thamil in any way, Vavuniya police said.

Two people injured in the explosion were brought to Vavuniya and sent to the Anuradhapura base hospital for surgery, hospital sources said.

The dead were identified as Mrs. Rasiah Manonmany (38) and her daughter, Piyula (7). The injured are relatives of the dead who were visiting the home, Anjalithevy and her ten years old son, sources said.

Inquiries by the Vavuniya district judge, who visited the site of the explosion, have revealed that the pipe was brought to the home 2 years ago and the occupants of the home were unaware that hidden in the pipe was a homemade bomb, sources said.