Monkey pod wood tree at the backround of seven virgins mountain range. adams beak sri lanka

41 years have passed since the dreadful air accident that occurred in Sri Lanka. The accident occurred at the fifth mountain of the range of hills in Maskeliya, popularly known as “SapthaKanya” or “Seven Virgins mountains” when it crashed into ‘Seven Virgins’ on December 4th, 1974, making it Sri Lanka’s worst ever air tragedy.
Martin Air DC-8 aircraft belonging to Holland crashed after hitting the Mountain while it was flying over the Castlereigh Reservoir in Norwood on its way to Mecca. The disaster occurred on December 04th in the year 1974.
The McDonnell Douglas DC-8 55f airplane chartered by Garuda Indonesian Airways and operated by Martin air, Holland was carrying 249 Mecca pilgrims and all Icelandic crew of 13. It commenced its journey from the Surabaya Airport in Indonesia about 17.30 hours (Sri Lankan time) for Jeddah with a scheduled technical stop at Katunayake International Airport.
The sound of the aircraft exploding, on its impact, was initially heard by residents close to the site of the crash and subsequently it was discovered the aircraft had crashed into the fifth mountain of the range “Seven virgins” killing all on board together with the aircraft which was reduced to pieces. 190 dead bodies were buried near the mountain while the body of an air hostess was taken to Indonesia by her boyfriend. A national from the Netherlands served as a pilot. The son of the chief pilot of the aircraft arrived at the scene of the accident and produced a TV feature programme.
A monument containing a list of the crew victims is on display along with the front wheel of the aircraft at the Norton Bridge Police Station. It is reported that the accident had occurred due to a technical fault.