Eight people, including six schoolchildren, are missing in Sri Lanka after their farm tractor was swept away by floodwaters caused by torrential rains, police reported on Wednesday.
The island nation has been battered by heavy rainfall and strong winds over the past two days, leading to flooded homes, fields, and roads, and disrupting train services in tea-growing mountainous regions.
The most severe incident occurred on Tuesday evening when a farm tractor carrying 11 schoolchildren was swept away by rising floodwaters in the eastern region near Karaitivu. While five children were rescued, six others, along with the tractor driver and another adult, remain missing. Police have launched a search operation to locate the missing individuals.
In a separate incident, a woman lost her life in Badulla, a mountainous region in central Sri Lanka, after a brick wall collapsed on her. The Disaster Management Center reported that eight others were injured in various weather-related incidents across the country.
As of Wednesday, more than 3,000 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters, and nearly 600 homes have been damaged due to the extreme weather. Army and navy personnel have been mobilized to assist in rescue operations and distribute essential supplies to those affected.
The Meteorology Department attributed the adverse conditions to a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal, warning that it may develop into a cyclonic storm by Thursday as it approaches Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with relentless severe weather since May, primarily driven by heavy monsoon rains. Earlier in June, 16 people lost their lives in floods and mudslides, highlighting the ongoing vulnerability of the region to extreme weather events.