COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - A landslide buried more than 140 houses in Sri Lanka on Wednesday after days of heavy rain, killing at least 10 people. Hopes were fading for more than 300 others who were listed as missing. Children who left for school in the morning returned to find their clay and cement houses in the village of Haldummulla had been buried.
Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said 75 children had escaped the disaster in an area famous for its tea plantations because they were in school. "We are not sure about the others. But we are trying our best to rescue them," Amaraweera told media. He added that the landslide was at least 2 miles long. Villagers had been advised in 2005 and 2012 to move away because of the threat of landslides, but many did not heed the warning, according to Amaraweera.