Sri Lanka landslides: 100 still missing and feared dead

'The military is keeping up a search, but there is no hope of finding anyone alive now'

Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan president, has visited the site and vowed to provide support (Getty Images)

Around 100 people are still missing and feared dead following landslides in Sri Lanka, according to the country’s authorities.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said 67 bodies had been recovered from the central district of Kegalle, after torrential rains and extensive flooding. At present, 99 people are still listed as missing after the disaster on 17 May.

Pradeep Kodippili, a spokesperson for DMC, said: "The military is keeping up a search, but there is no hope of finding anyone alive now. The 99 people missing in the landslides are believed to be dead."

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

A military official in Kegalle, 60 miles north-east of the capital Colombo, said search operations were hampered by continuous rain in the region.

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 once water levels subsided.

Sri Lanka has received emergency aid from other countries, including India, which dispatched two naval ships and an aircraft loaded with supplies.

Maithripala Sirisena, the Sri Lankan president, has visited the site and vowed to provide the support needed to find the missing families.

During heavy rains in December 2014, Sri Lankan authorities evacuated more than 60,000 people from thousands of homes damaged or destroyed by floods or landslides. Two months before that, dozens of tea plantation workers were killed when mudslides buried their hillside homes.

The Meteorological Department has forecast more rain and rough seas for much of the country and warned more landslides could occur.

AFP