Three youth, including two students, drowned in the Kandalama wewa (tank) at Dambulla yesterday morning.

The victims, Malinda Wijesinghe (16), Sumith Nilantha Samarasekera (18) and Isuru Lakmal Jayasundara (21), had gone for a dip in the wewa when tragedy struck.

Accompanying their parents and a group of friends on an outing, they had gone for a swim around 3 pm when they were drowned, police said.

Police said that initially the two students had got into difficulty while bathing and the other youth who was also with them had tried to save the boys when all of them were drowned.

The youth was a good swimmer but all three lives were lost, police said.

The outing had been organised by the Sanasa Development Society at Pannipitiya. The victims were residents of the Avissawella, Depanama and Araliyauyana areas.

The two students were studying in the GCE O/L and A/L classes, respectively while the other youth was planning to join the Navy next week.

Investigations are being conducted by Dambulla OIC Lal de Silva.