100 BURIED ALIVE IN SRI LANKA TEA REGION MUDSLIDE

KOSLANDA, Sri Lanka - Around 100 people were buried alive in a tea-growing region of Sri Lanka Wednesday as mudslides triggered by monsoon rains washed away their homes on a plantation, disaster officials said.
One witness spoke of hearing a noise like thunder as part of a mountainside collapsed onto the estate, burying some of the workers' homes in 30 feet (nine metres) of mud and debris.

"What I gathered is that about 100 people have been buried alive," Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told AFP after visiting the site in the eastern Koslanda region.

"There is no chance they could have survived," said the minister, as other officials said 16 people were confirmed dead.

Hundreds of soldiers, who initially used their hands to dig for survivors, had switched to operating excavators by evening but hopes had faded of finding anyone else still alive.

Source: AF(Yahoo News)...More