Landslides in Sri Lanka have devastated several villages and have buried up to 220 families, according to the Associated Press.
Emergency personnel have been digging through mud and debris to recover
missing persons in three villages that were hit hard by recent
landslides caused by days of heavy rains.
Rescuers have recovered 17 bodies from the mud in one village, but hundreds of families are still reporting missing loved ones.
"The task is to figure out what happened to them," the Sri Lankan Red
Cross said in a statement, adding that some family members listened to
warnings to evacuate the villages, so it is difficult to know how many
may be buried beneath the mud and debris.
Officials are also warning that, as rains continue to fall, there is a possibility of more landslides in the region.
Villagers recalled what happened as the landslides began:
"I heard a huge sound like a plane crashing into the Earth," said
52-year-old A.G. Kamala, who had just returned to her house in the
village of Siripura when the landslides hit. "I opened my door. I could
not believe my eyes, as I saw something like a huge fireball rolling
down the mountain."
Some villagers took refuge in a school while they waited for news of found loved ones.
Lal, another villager, said that 18 of his family members are missing,
all possibly buried under the mud. He said he and his wife had been
heading to a different village, but his wife went back home.
"That was the last time I saw her," Lal said, sobbing. When he heard
about the landslide, he rushed home but found the area covered with
thick, heavy mud. "All I could do was scream.”
Each of the villages are thought to be home to 1,000 to 1,500 people.
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