More than 200 families are missing and at least 16 people have been confirmed dead after heavy rain triggered a massive landslide in Sri Lanka.
The landslide took place on the island of Aranayake and buried three villages — Siripura, Pallebage, and Elagipitya.
A Red Cross spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that "the statistics we have for the three villages indicate there were 225 families living in this area."
"Now the question is, where are they? Still, authorities are doing their best to locate them and try to ascertain as to what has happened," the spokesperson said.
"However, from what I am hearing from our teams on the ground, the picture is grim."
So far 180 people have been rescued by Red Cross workers and are being housed, fed, and treated for injuries in a local temple.
More than 300 soldiers have been deployed to search for survivors but heavy fog and electricity outages are complicating rescue efforts, the Associated Press reported.
ALERT - First look at the #landslide in #Aranayake. Rescue teams reaching village. Over 200 families missing #lka