Sri Lanka garbage mountain collapses on slums

COLOMBO: Emergency workers in Sri Lanka rushed yesterday to an area of the capital where a giant rubbish dump caught fire and collapsed on

dozens of shanties as the country marked its traditional New Year.

Fire fighters headed to Kolonnawa where the 300foot rubbish dump crashed following the fire, an official at the Colombo Fire department said.

“We are trying to get to the shanties that were buried under tonnes of rubbish,” the official told AFP.

He said it was unclear whether anyone was inside the makeshift homes when they were buried under the rubbish.

Several ambulances have also been sent to the area.

Local residents had been protesting about the environmental damage to the area from the open dump, where some 800 tonnes of solid waste was added daily.

The fire broke out as the country marked its traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year and most people were in their homes celebrating.