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Sri Lanka recovers 10 bodies from site of collapsed garbage dump

Xinhua, April 15, 2017 Adjust font size:

Sri Lankan authorities on Saturday said that they had recovered ten bodies from the site of a collapsed garbage dump just outside the capital Colombo.

The garbage mountain in Meethotamulla collapsed Friday evening damaging over 60 houses with some saying over 100 homes were destroyed.

A rescue operation continued overnight following fears many people were buried in the incident.

Among those killed in the incident were four children and several others were admitted to hospital for treatment.

Over 180 people have also been displaced, officials said.

A fire had also broken out at the site and the Air Force was deployed to douse the flames.

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena instructed the Disaster Management Centre to provide assistance to the affected families.

The residents of the area have been protesting over the past several months urging the authorities to move the garbage to another location. Endit