Five people, including three foreign passport-holders of Sri Lankan origin, were found hacked to death on Delft Island in the Jaffna Peninsula yesterday.
The two males and three females were found in a house near the Delft jetty. They had been murdered by stabbing with a sharp weapon in the house between the night of April 21 and last morning.
Another female was seriously injured and was admitted to the Jaffna Hospital. She is 98-years-old.
The deceased have been revealed as belonging to the same family and were elderly. Three of the dead had returned to the country on holiday. The injured woman was also visiting.
A dog who was in the house had been attacked with a sharp instrument and had escaped with injuries. It is suspected that it had been barking. It is reported that when the survivor was questioned about the assailants, she had indicated four people with hand gestures.
The victims are Subramaniam Mahadeva (78), Nathi Balasingam (75), Velayuthapillai-Nagaratnam (76), Nagasundari (74) and Balasingam Kanmani (72).
Passengers from a ferry arriving at the jetty were turned back without being permitted to disembark yesterday afternoon.
No information on the suspects or the reason for the murder have been revealed as of yet and the Delft Police are conducting further investigations. The site was visited by the magistrate and forensic experts.
The magistrate ordered the bodies to be sent to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital for post-mortems. The bodies were transported in a navy boat.
Sunday Times and other agencies.
