Members of a Sri Lankan Army rescue team carry a woman to safety through floodwaters in the suburb of Kaduwela in capital Colombo on May 17, 2016. - AFP
COLOMBO: Rescue workers in Sri Lanka searched for 16 people missing Wednesday after landslides buried several homes following three days of heavy rain, police said.
The floods have already claimed 11 lives and have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.
“We are looking for 16 people who have been reported missing,” a police officer in the central district of Kegalle said by telephone.
Security forces had also joined in the search, the officer added.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said dozens of houses were destroyed when mountain slopes collapsed, forcing hundreds of villagers to evacuate.
The official toll after three days of rain stood at 11 killed and 19 wounded, the DMC said, adding that some 230,000 people have been displaced from their flooded homes.
The government has deployed troops to evacuate people living on slopes or in flood-hit areas and the navy and the air force have also been called in to help with relief operations.
The meteorological department says the heavy rains could subside by Wednesday. - AFP
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