Sri Lanka Says 100 Missing in Landslides are Dead

Local Editor

Around 100 people still missing following landslides in Sri Lanka last week are believed dead, authorities said Saturday after failing to find signs of life under tons of mud.

The Disaster Management Centre [DMC] said 67 bodies had been recovered from the worst hit central district of Kegalle where 99 people were still listed as missing following the rain-triggered May 17 disaster.

Heavy rains also triggered floods across much of the country last week and claimed 37 lives in addition to those killed in the landslides, according to the DMC.

The government has said floods and landslides caused by heavy rain drove over 600,000 people from their homes, but most of them have since returned with water levels subsiding.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team