Sri Lankans ‘ignored landslide warnings’
Officials says workers were warned 10 years before heavy rains caused hill to collapse, killing over 100 people.
Published On 1 Nov 2014
Sri Lankans are being warned to watch out for more landslides after disaster struck a tea plantation. At least 100 workers and their familes were killed on Wednesday when monsoon rains caused a hill beside a village to collapse.
Officials originally put the death toll at more than 300, but reduced it that estimate after it emerged that many schoolchildren and plantation workers had been at a safe distance when buildings were engulfed.
Government officials say workers were warned of the potential danger 10 years ago but chose to stay.
Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez reports from Koslanda.