Hundreds Missing After Sri Lanka Landslides

Rescuers are searching for more than 200 families feared buried by rain-triggered mudslides in the remote Aranayake area in central Sri Lanka.

Sixteen bodies have been recovered so far and about 180 people have been pulled to safety, military spokesman Jayanath Jayaweera said.

The Red Cross said the missing people are thought to have been inside houses when the landslides cascaded over three villages - Siripura, Pallebage and Elagipitya.

Torrential rains lasting more than three days triggered the disaster and have forced more than 196,000 people from their homes.

Brigadier Jayaweera said more than 300 soldiers are involved in the search for survivors in Kegalle District, about 45 miles from the capital, Colombo.

Heavy fog and electricity outages, as well as the instability of the ground, are said to be complicating the efforts.

The same rains that unleashed the mudslides have also caused severe flooding in a number of cities.

The country's disaster management centre had reported 11 deaths from electrocution and smaller landslides elsewhere in the past few days.

The Meteorological Department has forecast more rain and rough seas for much of the country.

Schools in many ares are closed because of the bad weather, with many being used to provide shelter for those who escaped the disaster.

Flooding and drought occur regularly in Sri Lanka, which is battered by a monsoon between May and September, and December to February.