President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited the residence of the late State Minister Sanath Nishantha this afternoon (Jan.25) to offer his condolences to the bereaved family members.

State Minister Sanath Nishantha lost his life in a tragic accident on the Colombo - Katunayake expressway early this morning.

The deceased lawmaker is now lying in state at Jayaratne Funeral Parlour in Borella, and the members of the public are allowed to pay their last respects.

The casket will be brought to the late state minister’s residence in Puttalam at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow (Jan.26).

According to the police, the state minister’s vehicle had crashed against the roadside barrier before rear-ending a moving container truck around 2:00 a.m. today.

Following the fatal collision, three critically injured people including State Minister Nishantha had been rushed to the Colombo North Teaching Hospital in Ragama.

However, two of them – the lawmaker and his security guard, a police constable named Jayakody – had succumbed to their injuries. The driver of the vehicle is now under medical care at the Ragama Hospital.

According to reports, the group had been returning from a wedding ceremony held at a hotel in Bandarawatta, Chilaw last night at the time of the accident.

Born on 03 May 1975, Nishantha embarked on his political career in 1997. He was elected to the parliament from Puttalam District at the general elections held in 2015 and 2020.

Nishantha is survived by his wife Attorney-at-Law Chamari Perera, three daughters and a son.