71 killed, hundreds missing from floods, landslides in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, May 21 (PNA/Xinhua) — The death toll from Sri Lanka’s flash floods and landslides rose to 71 on Saturday, while rescue teams continued efforts to search for hundreds who were still missing across the island, the Disaster Management Center said. Sri Lanka’s central Kegalle District has recorded the highest number of deaths with 39 killed when two massive landslides struck Aranayake and Bulathkohupitiya on Tuesday and Wednesday. Photo courtesy of smh.com.au The military said at least 141 people were still missing in Aranayake under the heavy debris and said rescue efforts would continue. “We are still trying to recover at least 141 bodies from the landslide in Aranayake. So far we have recovered 14 bodies and 12 body parts. We will continue with our rescue efforts,” the officer in charge of the rescue missions, Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe told Xinhua. However, the officer said efforts were being hampered by [...]