Born in Karathota village in Tissamaharama, Hambantota, Sepala Ekanayake was born on June 3, 1949. He is known as the first and only Sri Lankan to commit an airplane robbery.
Educated at Yodhakandiya Rural School, Hambantota, Sepala Ekanayake went to West Germany in 1972. Later, based on a relationship they had there, he married an Italian woman, Anna Aldrovancdi, in 1977. He settled in Modena, Italy, in 1980 with their son. His name was Free Ekanayake.
After the birth of his son, the authorities in that country did not take steps to grant Sepala a new visa. They suggested that Sepala return to Sri Lanka and apply for a new visa through the Colombo embassy.
After waiting for a visa for 6 years, Sepala finally hijacked an Alitalia Boeing 747 aircraft of the Italian airline to make his efforts come true.
On June 30, 1982, he and a friend boarded the plane bound for Italy from New Delhi airport and were on their way to Tokyo, Japan.
After the plane reached an altitude of 35,000 feet, Sepala handed the two pilots a letter. In it, he had asked them to hand over his wife and child to him at Don Muang airport in Bangkok, and in addition He also demanded a ransom of US$3,000,000.
He told the pilots to land the plane at Don Muang International Airport. He threatened everyone with a bomb on board and threatened to blow up the plane if they did not give him what he wanted.
Finally, with the intervention of the Italian government, he was able to get his wife and child back. The security forces managed to free all the passengers held hostage by Sepala after a 30-hour operation.
Although the then Sri Lankan Ambassador to Bangkok, Ms. Manel Abeysekara, said that he would be safely sent to Sri Lanka, he was eventually referred to the Italian security forces. Later, upon a request from Sri Lanka, he was brought to the island and sent to the Welikada Prison.
Later, his child and wife were sent back to Italy. When the case was filed,
the Sri Lankan government failed to file a case against him because such a kidnapping had never happened before in the world.
In 1987, he remarried to an English language teacher
(Yasangani Madupali) and became a father of two children (Sally and Wirama). He is currently engaged in business activities in the Nuwara Eliya area and is a permanent resident of the Battaramulla area.
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