Ditwah cyclone: Search for bodies still continues but hampered due to rain

• Some 174 persons are still missing, while the death toll stood at 648

By Yohan Perera 

Search for those who are missing as a result of the cyclone Ditwah is still continuing, but operations have been hampered due to rain that is prevailing in the respective areas, state officials said yesterday. 

District Secretary Kegalle Deshapriya Bandara said the search for the missing in the district has to be stopped temporarily due to rain in the district. 

He said a body was found during the weekend. “We have excavated all the areas which could be excavated to look for the missing. However, there are dunes which are almost 40 feet high created by landslides, and it is difficult to excavate these. However, we have not given up the search,” Mr. Bandara told Daily Mirror. 

A state official from the Nuwara Eliya District who did not wish to be named said search operations in the district continue, though it have been stopped in areas such as Ramboda. “We managed to recover a body without the head during the weekend. This body was beyond recognition. 

This could be the case in the future, as remains of the missing could be beyond recognition, as more than a month has passed since the cyclone hit Sri Lanka.

As per the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) as of yesterday, some 174 persons are still missing, while the death toll stood at 648.