Casualties in the recent LTTE suicide bomb blast at Dharmapuram, which killed about 20 people including soldiers would have been far less if the security personnel engaged in searching and documenting refugees were not congregated but spread within the area of the incident, a Coroner’s inquest was told by an eyewitness last week.

An army officer Mulatiyana Wickremasinhege Jagath told the inquest held by City Coroner Edward Ahangama into the death of soldier Edirimannege Priyantha that on the day of the incident, a group of both male and female soldiers were engaged in searching and documenting the refugees. At about 11.15 am, a woman who seemed to be mentally deranged was wailing about her jewellery being lost. A group of soldiers gathered around her when there was an explosion, he said.

"Had the soldiers not gathered around her, casualties would have been far less"

AJMO K. Joozar who held the post mortem dtermined the cause of death as Cranio cerebral injuries.

A verdict of homicide was returned.