There’s confusion over how many people might be dead or missing beneath a massive mudslide at a tea plantation in Sri Lanka.  At least ten people are confirmed dead and 250 are missing.  But the government later reduced the number of missing by 100 without explanation.

“I left for work early morning and got a call asking me to rush back because there is an earth slip near my home.  I came back and there is no trace of my home, everyone was buried,” wept a 48-year old truck driver who would only give his name as “Raja” this morning.  He says he lost five members of his family – his wife, two sons, daughter-in-law and his 6-month-old grandchild.

The landslide hit a village in a hilly area at Badulla in central Sri Lanka on Wednesday, after days of heavy monsoon rains.  It wiped out 120 workers' homes at the Koslanda tea plantation.  If, like Raja's household, each home has several occupants the death toll could be staggering.  

The UN humanitarian wing is standing by to assist.

“OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) is in close contact with this center and stands ready to support as requested,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.  “The Sri Lankan Red Cross Society has mobilized first aid teams, while the World Health Organization is supporting the Sri Lankan ministry of health’s efforts to assist the affected communities.”