Alwaght- Dozens of people still remain unaccounted for three days after a 91-metre high rubbish mound collapsed onto a clutch of homes near Sri Lanka's capital.
Rescuers are digging through heaps of mud and trash that, up to now, have killed at least 29 people.
Hundreds had been living in the working-class neighborhood on the fringe of the towering dump in Meetotamulla, a town outside of Colombo, when a huge mound collapsed Friday night during a local new year celebration and destroyed some 80 homes and more.
Associated Press cited a Sri Lankan acticist as saying that, by Monday morning, authorities had pulled 29 bodies from beneath the debris. Authorities were unsure how many more could still be trapped, but about 30 people were still reported missing, said awyer Nuwan Bopage, who has worked with locals to protest the dump.
Soldiers were digging with backhoes and shovels, as relatives of the missing pointed out where their houses once stood amid coconut, mango and banana trees. Those homes now lay in piles of collapsed concrete walls encased in a wall of mud up to 8 meters high and mixed with plastic bags, broken glass and other trash. Bicycles and auto-rickshaws, the three-wheeled vehicles used as local taxis, were crushed or lying topsy-turvy.
About 800 tons of solid waste is added daily to the open dump, angering residents who live nearby.
Sri Lanka’s parliament was warned recently that the 23 million tons of garbage rotting at Kolonnawa was a serious health hazard.
The prime minister over the weekend vowed to shut down the dump, which has absorbed much of Colombo's garbage for several years as much of the capital has undergone extensive renovations. As the garbage piled up, it began threatening the tiny homes nearby, prompting residents to stage regular protests while complaining of health hazards.
