COLOMBO, Apr 15: Four children injured in a fire incident at a giant open garbage dump have succumbed to their injuries, taking the overall death toll in the accident in Sri Lanka to 10.
Around 50 to 100 houses were completely destroyed and 180 people displaced due to the fire in Meethotamulla in Kolonnawa, a suburb north of Colombo, said attorney Nuwan Bopage.
Over 400 troops were deployed to rescue the slum dwellers adjacent to the 300-foot garbage dump.
Ten people, including four children, have been killed in the tragedy in a giant open garbage dump fire, officials were quoted as saying by the Colombo Gazette.
The mountain of garbage caught fire and collapsed on dozens of slums as the residents were celebrating the traditional New Year yesterday.
The military has been deployed to rescue people who might be trapped, police said, adding that the army and an air force helicopter were also pressed into service to douse the flames.
Police said the true scale of the damage remained unclear.
“A search for survivors is under way,” the police said in a statement.
Sri Lanka’s parliament was recently warned that 23 million tonnes of garbage at Kolonnawa dump was a serious health hazard. About 800 tonnes of garbage is being added to the dump on a daily basis.
The residents have been carrying out persistent protests to move the dump and place it elsewhere.
“This is not a natural disaster but man made due to sheer negligence by the authorities concerned,” M S Marikkar, the ruling party local member of parliament, said. (PTI)
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