Ms Wienburg and her husband were staying at a hotel in the area and she had been attending a beach carnival when the incident occurred. Police said witnesses reported seeing Ms Wienburg vomiting and suddenly falling unconscious. She was rushed to the Matara Hospital, but died subsequently.

In the other incident, on January 12, an Indian national who was attending a tourist camp at Ussangoda, in Ambalantota was found unconscious on the Welipatanvila beach. He was pronounced dead on admission to the Ambalantota Hospital. He was attending a special tourist camp organised for the seventh consecutive occasion, which saw the participation of tourists from 70 countries. The body was taken to the Hambantota hospital for a postmortem examination. Police are investigating both deaths.