200 families feared buried by rain-triggered mudslides in Sri Lanka

Colombo: The Sri Lankan Red Cross says rescuers are searching for more than 200 families feared buried by rain-triggered mudslides in three villages in central Sri Lanka.

Military spokesman Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera says 16 bodies have been recovered, as well as some 150 people who survived the landslides that cascaded over their villages Tuesday night.

The Sri Lankan Red Cross says at least 200 families are still missing from the villages of Siripura, Pallebage and Elagipitya in Kegalle District, about 72 kilometers (45 miles) north of Colombo.