In a tragic incident, police investigations have revealed that the international school student who took her own life yesterday (07) by jumping from the observation deck of Colombo’s Lotus Tower was a close friend of the two students who died in a similar manner on July 2nd. The previous incident involved a male and female student who jumped from the 67th floor of the Colombo Ultra Tower apartment complex. According to Police Media Spokesperson DIG Attorney Nihal Talduwa, initial findings indicate that the student was deeply affected by the deaths of her friends, which led to her decision to take her own life.
All three students attended the same international school in Colombo 07. Further investigations have revealed that this most recent suicide occurred nearly three months after the first incident, and the student followed a similar method to that of her friends.
The police have identified the student who died at the Lotus Tower as 15-year-old Radhya Gunasekara, a resident of Kollupitiya and the child of a business family. She was a grade 11 student at the international school.
On the day of the incident, police say that after school, Radhya traveled from Kurunduwatta to the Lotus Tower. She changed out of her school uniform, placing it in her bag, and wore different clothes before entering the tower. Her school bag, containing the uniform, was later found in the viewing area of the tower, along with a mobile phone believed to belong to her.
Similar to the earlier case at the Colombo Ultra Tower, where the students changed clothes before taking their fatal leap, Radhya purchased a ticket to access the Lotus Tower’s observation deck on the 29th floor. Between 3:30 and 4:00 PM, she removed her shoes, climbed over the barrier, and jumped from a secluded spot, avoiding the attention of security personnel and other visitors. The police later recovered her shoes as part of their investigation.
Radhya’s body landed on the concrete floor of the third level of the tower, while her two friends who had jumped from the Ultra Tower had fallen onto an intermediate floor. CCTV footage confirmed her movements within the Lotus Tower, capturing her ascent to the observation deck and her actions before the tragic leap.
A senior police official noted that the distance from the observation deck to the point where she landed is over 250 meters, making this the first recorded suicide from such a height in Sri Lanka’s history, and the first from the Lotus Tower.
Police Media Spokesperson Nihal Talduwa stated that the authorities will continue to gather more information as the investigation progresses.
