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Terror of Sri Lankan landslides: ‘All I could do was scream’

An auto rickshaw, a three wheeler used for transport is buried in the mud, behind as survivors and others walk on the mud after a landslide in Elangipitiya village in Aranayaka about 72 kilometers (45 miles) north east of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Soldiers and police used sticks and bare hands Wednesday to dig through enormous piles of mud covering houses in three villages hit by massive landslides in central Sri Lanka, with hundreds of families reported missing. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
An auto rickshaw, a three wheeler used for transport is buried in the mud, behind as survivors and others walk on the mud after a landslide in Elangipitiya village in Aranayaka about 72 kilometers (45 miles) north east of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Soldiers and police used sticks and bare hands Wednesday to dig through enormous piles of mud covering houses in three villages hit by massive landslides in central Sri Lanka, with hundreds of families reported missing. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) An auto rickshaw, a three wheeler used for transport is buried in the mud, behind as survivors and others walk on the mud after a landslide in Elangipitiya village in Aranayaka about 72 kilometers (45 miles) north east of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. Soldiers and police used sticks and bare hands Wednesday to dig through enormous piles of mud covering houses in three villages hit by massive landslides in central Sri Lanka, with hundreds of families reported missing. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

By Associated Press 5 min read

ELANGAPITIYA VILLAGE, Sri Lanka (AP) – Heavy rains Thursday pounded the central Sri Lankan region where at least three villages have already been swallowed by mountains of mud, forcing soldiers and police to suspend rescue work. At least 18 people are known to have been killed and hundreds are reported missing in the landslides so far.

Rescue work had resumed early in morning before fresh rains began in the area, but was halted for about an hour as minor landslides made the work dangerous. Torrents of water streamed down the hill on which the three villages of Siripura, Elangapitiya or Pallebage were located at different elevations.

Asked whether rescuers expected to find survivors, army Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe said, “I have my doubts,” and pointed to an area in Elangapitiya village where 66 houses once stood. “We don’t have a trace of any house here. All gone with that landslide. So I have my doubts.”

Military spokesman Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera told reporters in the capital, Colombo, that the army was assessing the situation and would deploy more troops if needed.

Heavy rains have lashed the island nation for several days and officials said the extent of the tragedy was still unclear. The Sri Lankan Red Cross said at least 220 families were unaccounted for.