Follow us on:   

Many feared dead in Lanka landslide
October 29, 2014, 11:17 pm

Survivors of Wednesday's landslide in central Sri Lanka are moved to relief camps away from the disaster zone [Xinhua]

Survivors of Wednesday’s landslide in central Sri Lanka are moved to relief camps away from the disaster zone [Xinhua]


Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has told local media that he fears at least 100 people may have died in a landslide which buried homes, businesses and farms in the country’s central inland.

The landslide occurred early morning Wednesday after heavy monsoon rains in the tea-rich area of Haldummulla. The area has been battered by heavy rains for weeks.

The government said it recovered 10 bodies but that hundreds are still unaccounted for. More than 120 homes were swept away, it said.

More than 500 troops and volunteers who were dispatched to the area along with heavy machinery were forced to suspend their rescue operations as nightfall approached.

Dozens of children have been moved to two relief camps located a safe distance from the disaster zone.

Officials said they feared with constant rains hammering the area, the likelihood of more landslides was high.

Source: Agencies