10 dead, 300 missing in Sri Lanka land slide

At least 10 people are dead and hundreds are missing following a landslide in central Sri Lanka, officials tell the BBC.

The landslide, which came after heavy monsoon rains, engulfed about 140 houses in Badulla district, officials said.

Security forces have been mobilised in search and rescue operations.

Mudslide warnings were issued after much of Sri Lanka was lashed by heavy rain in the past few weeks.

The mudslide hit the Meeriyabedda tea plantation near the town of Haldummulla, about 200 km (120 miles) east of the capital Colombo, on Wednesday at 07:30am local time (02:30 GMT).

Ten people have been confirmed dead and more than 300 are missing, Disaster Management Centre spokesman Sarath Kumara told the BBC.

THIRTY FEET OF MUD'

About 500 military personnel are said to be involved in the rescue operation.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa tweeted that heavy machinery had been deployed to speed up the efforts.

Local MP Udith Lokubandara told the BBC that bad weather conditions were affecting the operations.

He said many parents had returned home after leaving their children at school when the landslip happened.

"It is a very sorry situation because there are many children who have become orphans," he said.

The mudslide in Sri Lanka was the result of torrential rains in the region. Rescue efforts continue for the missing. Photo taken from Mashable

Maj Gen Mano Perera, the top military official in the area, told a news agency that "some houses have been buried in 30ft (9m) of mud".

A driver who works on the plantation, P Arumugam, told Reuters: "Everything that I saw yesterday I could not see today - buildings, the temple and shops had all disappeared. I could only see mud everywhere."

One woman who survived told local media: "I was under the rubble and some people took me out... my mother and aunt have died."

Officials say an area of about two kilometres (one mile) has been affected by the landslide, Sri Lankan newspaper Daily Mirror reports.

Sections of several national highways have been washed away by the rains, reports say.

In June, monsoon rains triggered landslides in Sri Lanka that killed at least 22 people and forced thousands from their homes.

Monsoon rains are caused by winds in the Indian Ocean and south Asia. They bring about wet and dry seasons in much of the region, and have a large impact on local ecosystems.