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Shelters fill up at Sri Lankan tea plantation after deadly mudslide

Sri Lankan authorities are warning of more landslides at a tea plantation where a deadly torrent of mud swept away scores of homes this week, residents said yesterday.

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A landslide survivor comforts a child at a relief camp in Punagala. Photo: AP

Sri Lankan authorities are warning of more landslides at a tea plantation where a deadly torrent of mud swept away scores of homes this week, residents said yesterday.

But with the shelters already crowded, the residents say there is no room left for anyone else.

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Disaster officials estimate that about 100 people were killed on Wednesday morning when monsoon rains unleashed a cascade of muddy earth at the Koslanda plantation in Badulla district, about 220km east of Colombo.

The death toll has yet to be confirmed, and many villagers believe the figure could exceed 200.

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Kannusamy Mahendran, 34, whose home was still standing but in the danger zone, said they have been warned of mudslides several times by the authorities since 2002. However, they were never given an alternative.

"Officials come here and ask us to leave, but they don't tell us where to go," he said.

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