A 17-year-old schoolboy has reportedly drowned while attempting to retrieve a cricket ball that had fallen into the swimming pool at his school in Dikwella. 

According to reports, the student had been playing cricket with several classmates on the school grounds when the ball landed in the pool. The incident occurred as he entered the water to recover it.

The deceased has been identified as a Grade 12 student of the Vijitha Maha Vidyalaya, Dikwella. The body has been placed at the morgue of the Batheegama District Hospital.