‘Buried alive’ record bid ends in death

A SRI Lankan man has died while trying to set a record for the longest time spent buried alive.

Police said Janaka Basnayake, 24, buried himself over the weekend with the help of family and friends, in a trench sealed with wood and soil in Kantale, about 140 miles north of the capital, Colombo. A local newspaper reported that the trench was 10ft deep.

Mr Basnayake was buried at about 9:30am on Saturday. Police said when he was brought to the surface at 4pm, he was unconscious and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Mr Basnayake’s mother, LD Leelawathi, said her son had enjoyed performing unusual acts since his childhood, the Lankadeepa newspaper reported.

She said her son had been buried alive on two previous occasions, for up to six hours.

Police said Mr Basnayake was a member of a police unit that fought in the country’s civil war.