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Mother, widow take pride in service
View(s):Group Captain Nirmal Siyambalapitiya, 41, the pilot of the ill-fated Bell 212, paid the ultimate price while delivering humanitarian aid to flood-affected communities in his own home district.
He leaves behind his parents, widow and young son. He had last spoken to his family on Thursday before going for relief operations in the Pallaviya area.
“These people are in a truly helpless state. As long as we are here, we must help them in every possible way,” his wife, Buddhika Lakmini Gunaratne, 41, recalled her husband saying during their final conversation.
“He had a very sensitive heart. He always called us after he landed and never forgot to ask about our son. He cared deeply about us but never allowed that to interfere with his duty,” she said, battling tears.
Due to severe weather-related network failures, she was unable to contact him again. Around 7 p.m. on Monday, she received the devastating call from the air force camp confirming his death.
“I still struggle to accept it. But I am proud of the great service he rendered to the country. That is my only consolation,” she said.
Group Captain Siyambalapitiya was also due to receive his master’s degree at a university convocation on December 2, a milestone he was preparing for but never lived to see.
His grieving mother, Vimala Weerasinghe, a retired bank officer, said her son had always brought pride to his school and family.
“He was my second son, and he devoted himself to others. That he died helping displaced and starving people of our own area will remain etched in our hearts forever,” she said.
An old boy of St Joseph Vaz College, Wennappuwa, he joined the Sri Lanka Air Force on July 5, 2005, with the 48th Officer Cadet Intake. After training at the Air Force Academy, he specialised in helicopter aviation and flew Bell 206, 212, 412 and MI-17 aircraft.
Promoted to Wing Commander in 2024, he was among officers with the highest active flying hours, having logged over 3,000 hours.
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