Air Force says LTTE plane was tracked from Mannar to Colombo
By Jamila Najmuddin and Senaka de Silva
Theories and more theories emerged yesterday as to how the LTTE aircraft which bombed Mannar and then the Kelanitissa power plant, managed to evade being shot down by the Air Force despite flying such a distance.
However the Air Force, while admitting the Tiger aircraft had managed to escape, ruled out at least one assumption that the Tiger aircraft involved in the raid in Mannar went undetected until it reached Colombo to take out its target.
Defence sources said that two aircraft had taken off from Iranamadu and headed towards Mannar and Colombo. The Army’s 57th Division which operates along the front lines had detected the two aircraft on its radars and informed Colombo.
The Air Force had then deployed F-7, MI- 24 and PT6 aircrafts to bring down the Tiger plane.
According to Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara a light
Mystery
LTTE aircraft dropped two bombs on the Mannar Army headquarters in Thalladi, Mannar around 10.20 pm on Tuesday night.
“Three soldiers at the Army camp at Thalladi received minor injuries when the terrorist air craft dropped three bombs before it made its way towards Kelanitissa,” the military said.
Two buildings in the camp premises of the Army installation were slightly damaged. Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers and artillery are stored in this location and might have been the target of the LTTE, they said.
The Army then launched artillery and multi barrel fire towards Iranamadu while the Air Force also pounded the location where the LTTE airstrip is believed to be located. The LTTE aircraft however managed to return to its base.
Meanwhile another LTTE aircraft headed towards Colombo during which time the electricity in the City and areas adjoining the Parliament as well as other key installations around Colombo was shut down and the air defence systems activated.
“The Air Force tracked the LTTE plane from Mannar to Colombo. Once it flew over land anti- aircraft fire was directed towards the aircraft from several locations including the harbour,” the Air Force spokesman said.
When contacted a Navy official said that the Navy was also alerted that a Tiger aircraft was heading for Colombo and was placed on standby.
The Tiger aircraft dropped at least two bombs on the Kelanitissa power plant before returning to the Wanni.
During the tense period roads close to Temple Trees were shut down and Army re-inforcements deployed to strengthen security in the area.
Meanwhile an employee of the power plant who was found unconscious at the site died last morning in hospital. Initial reports said he may have died of shock as his body had only slight injuries.
According to the Defence Ministry two passenger aircraft scheduled to land at the Katunayake airport were diverted to the Chennai airport until the situation was brought under control.
Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekara said security had been tightened in Kelanitissa, Colombo and its suburbs following Tuesday night’s LTTE air attack.
Meanwhile, a mother of two children residing in Hunupitiya, Wattala sustained injuries when a shell fired by the security forces during the LTTE aerial attack on the Kelanitissa Power Station struck her house. The mother was rushed to the Ragama Hospital with fractured legs.
Police said that victim had been asleep on a mat with her two children when the shell hit her house.
Meanwhile the TamilNet website said that Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombers were deployed over the Wanni to search for the LTTE aircraft after the air raid. According to TamilNet Air Force aircraft flew over the suburbs of Mullaitivu and Puthukkudiyiruppu with para lights focused on the ground.
TamilNet quoted civilian sources as saying the Tiger aircraft flew back to the Wanni over Mannar.
“Turbines will be repaired”: Min.
By Yohan Perera
Two turbines of the Kelanitissa power station were damaged in the LTTE air attack on Wednesday night, Power and Energy Minister John Seneviratne said yesterday adding that it would take at least six months to restore them. The Minister told journalists yesterday that the LTTE attempt to cut the power supply to Colombo city had failed.
“It is obvious that they targeted the Kelanitissa Station as it is the main establishment from where power is supplied to Colombo, to cut the supply to the city but they have failed in this exercise,” the Minister said.
He explained that the turbines which were damaged are not used regularly as they were contingency turbines which are used to generate power whenever the water levels in the reservoirs get reduced. They are also used to supply power when there is an increase in consumer demand during special occasions.
“Therefore the power station could still generate to its fullest capacity of 530 mw,” he said.
These turbines have the capacity to generate 165 MV of power through gas and steam.
Assuring that the damage is minor the Minister said assessing the financial loses would take some time as no survey was done to determine the physical damage. However according to the Minister the bombs had pierced through the concrete roof of the installation which is one foot in thickness and had fallen on one turbine and on the cooler of the GT 7 turbine.
He said that timely action was taken to close the gas taps to prevent the gas from coming into the turbine and thereby a huge disaster was averted.
It was also stated that a new security system, together with the Air Force, would be introduced to counter any air attacks in the future.
CEB Security Consultant M. R. W. De Soyza said the anti-aircraft guns installed in the station started firing at the time of the attack but destroying the aircraft was the responsibility of the Air Force. “We have the capacity to prevent a ground attack but intercepting aircraft has to be done by the Air Force,” he said
CEB Mechanical Officer K. Dharmaweera said the attack took place around 12 midnight just seconds after he reported for duty. “We were informed by the security forces that an aircraft was its way and we switched off the lights and the anti-aircraft guns installed in the station started firing,” he said.
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