At least 10 people are dead and more than 250 are missing in central Sri Lanka after a mudslide triggered by monsoon rains buried scores of workers' houses at a tea plantation on Wednesday.
The military mobilized troops to help with the rescue operation as rain still fell in the island nation's central hills. Earth covered some of the destroyed homes to the roof, and water gushing down hillsides indicated more slides were possible.
The mudslide struck at around 7:30 a.m. and wiped out 120 workers' homes at the Meeriabedda tea plantation in Badulla district, 135 miles east of the capital, Colombo, said Lal Sarath Kumara, an official from the Disaster Management Center.
By early afternoon, rescue workers had pulled out bodies that were buried by the mudslide, Kumara said. More than 250 other people were missing, he said.
First pictures emerge of Sri Lanka landslide where many feared dead among 300 missing http://t.co/3yJO0f5ik6 pic.twitter.com/XuglpLFjPo— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) October 29, 2014
State broadcaster Rupavahini showed huge mounds of earth covering the homes, with only parts of the roofs visible on some houses. It also showed more muddy water gushing from the hilltops, in a sign that there could be further slides.
About 500 military personnel and civilians were looking for survivors under the earth by Wednesday evening while heavy earthmoving machines were also used in the operation, according to a local journalist at the scene. Rain fell intermittently, but was not strong enough to hamper the rescue work.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa tweeted that he has ordered officials to provide early relief and speed up the rescue work.
On instructions of the President, military & Army's heavy machinery have been deployed to speed up search & rescue operations in Koslanda.— Mahinda Rajapaksa (@PresRajapaksa) October 29, 2014
Most of Sri Lanka has seen heavy rain over the past few weeks, and the Disaster Management Center had issued warnings for mudslides and falling rocks.
The monsoon season in the Indian Ocean island nation runs from October through December.
Sri Lanka, formerly called Ceylon, is one of the world's leading producers of tea. Most Ceylon tea, as it is known, is produced in the central hills, where the high altitudes and rainfall provide favorable conditions.